Back into the Past
by Mistress of Murder Rin-sama
Summary: In order to save a failing village and deceased friends, Sakura takes on the risky task of time travel. Co-existing with her younger self and fighting an unknown enemy from her time, can Sakura save her important people? SasuSaku
1. Time Travel Jutsu, Activate!

Back into the Past

Chapter 1

(Episodes 3-5)

Damn Uchiha had to attack when the village was at its weakest.

Sakura took the scroll in her arms. She ran through the fire, trying her best to avoid her former teammate.

(Former, remember that, he hurt you, he doesn't deserve your love)

Tsunade had predicted that Sasuke would attack Konoha, so she gave Sakura a mission in advance.

Go back in time and try to fix things.

(Crazy lady had too much sake again)

But going back in time? Yeah, when you're a ninja, you can do these sort of things.

When she performed the jutsu she would coexist with her younger self. Sakura went over the rules in her head. She can only tell the Hokage, Kakashi, her younger self; and if need be, all of Team 7. She sprinted to the Hokage's office and opened the door and took a step in. She stopped at the last moment, the fire roaring at her and the floor falling away. Sakura then headed to the basement, hoping that place would provide protection. Naruto joined her at the door and they entered guardedly.

Sasuke appeared in front of her.

"S-Sasuke…"

(He doesn't deserve your love!!! Don't stutter!!! NO!!!)

"Why are you in such a rush?" His Sharingan was activated and sword in hand. Sakura's face hardened in determination.

"I'm going to fix things." She whipped open the scroll and made the first hand sign, chakra whipping around her. "Naruto! Back me up!" Said ninja deflected Sasuke's sword with a kunai and forced him away from his pink-haired teammate. She focused on the scroll and performing a multitude of hand signs. A sphere of raw chakra formed around Sakura, wisps of purple, green and blue chakra making sure others kept their distance. Naruto and Sasuke paused their skirmish to watch in amazement.

(Didn't think little Sakura could be so powerful?)

"Time Travel Jutsu!" The chakra swirled so quickly that Sakura disappeared from view; a blinding light engulfed the whole village. The roof, walls and floor gave way to the powerful chakra. The noise was deafening, a ringing sound overtaking all sounds of war and fire.

Then silence.

Sakura fell to her knees. A kunai embedded itself on the wall behind her. She opened her eyes, her hair short hair clung to her sweating face. Jonin surrounded her, ready to kill. Among them were Kurenai, Kakashi and Asuma.

"Wait." Sakura thought she'd never hear that voice ever again.

(It worked…the jutsu actually worked…)

It was the Third. His voice roughened and weathered by time was strangely soothing to Sakura's ears. He approached her, the Jonin parting warily, ready at a moment's notice to kill her.

"Why are you here?" Gentle yet demanding, Sakura could never figure out how he did that. The Third motioned for the Jonin to leave.

"I'm from the future, the Fifth Hokage sent me on a mission. I'm only allowed to tell you, my former sensei, my younger self, and if need be, my former team." Sakura cleared her throat and continued, shaking with exhaustion.

"From when I left, the village was in ruins and I was sent back to hopefully make things right."

"Who destroyed the village?"

"Akatsuki, mainly the leader. But then Sasuke-kun, who was a missing-nin, came back to get revenge and re-destroyed Konoha. " She grit her teeth, she didn't like talking about Sasuke's betrayal.

"I see… say, you look like Sakura Haruno."

"I am Sakura Haruno."

"Hard to believe someone like little Sakura goes through so much." He gestured to the scars the criss-crossed her arms and the big one from Sasori's poisoned blade on her stomach, visible because of her burnt shirt.

"While I carry out my mission I'll need a place to stay."

"Wait, do you have a message from the Hokage of your time?" Sakura nodded, reaching into her weapon pouch to retrieve the note. The Third skimmed over the note; and seeming satisfied, nodded. He went to his drawer and tossed Sakura some keys and wrote a quick note, giving it to Sakura as well.

"In case your former sensei has trouble believing you, give this to him."

"Thank you Hokage-sama," she said. Sakura bowed and left.

Sakura entered her new home and sat down on the couch. She sighed and took out her money pouch. She had put all her money to helping restore Konoha. Sakura was broke.

"Oh shoot!" She raced out of her house and to the academy. She peeked through the window, seeing Naruto and Sasuke have their stare down.

"Naruto! Stop staring at Sasuke-kun!" Sakura giggled, her younger self was so naïve. Naruto looked back at her younger self.

"Sasuke-kun, just beat him up!" Scratch that, _all_ of the fan girls were naïve.

"Yeah!"

"What? For real?" That guy bumped Naruto and sent him crashing into Sasuke. They kissed. It was only now that Sakura laughed at that scene.

"Score! Front row seats!!!" Sakura cheered, instantly covering her mouth, realizing she had said that out loud.

"What was that!?" Sasuke pushed Naruto off him and jumped to the window. She crouched down and rolled to the side, hoping Sasuke hadn't seen her. The boys were at the window, wondering what that sound was. The girls on the other hand…

"Naruto!!!"

"Starting today you are all official ninjas, but… you are still new genin. It's going to get harder from here. You all will be in a group of three…" And from there Sakura zoned out. She instead focused on a butterfly flitting past

"Next, 7th group, Uzumaki Naruto, Haruno Sakura and Uchiha Sasuke."

The butterfly was suddenly shred to pieces.

Sakura perched herself on top of a giant yellow sphere **(I don't know, I was watching the anime and I saw it. I don't even know what it is.)** and watched herself and Naruto talk. Younger Sakura was being mean and immature as usual. She remembered something that Naruto had told her once, about tying Sasuke up and pretending to be him. That one time when Sakura had almost kissed "Sasuke". She headed to that same spot and masked her chakra.

"This is going to be enjoyable."

The window closed.

"Aw man!" Sakura cursed under her breath. She heard ruckus and "Sasuke" jumped out. She followed with a smile on her face.

And the rest is a repeat.

Now was an opportune time to approach Kakashi.

But Kakashi could wait.

She wanted to see the bell test.

After watching Kakashi get hit with an eraser, herself squeal over Sasuke, she went home to make some plans.

'Naruto's done so much for me, so I think I'll make a little change in history. Now, who should get tied to the pole? My younger self is so immature and could use some straightening out, but Sasuke could use a blow to his ego…Sasuke it is!'

Sakura knew Kakashi was going to be late, so she slept in. When she woke, she headed over to the training area and settled herself on a branch to watch. When Naruto charged at Kakashi, he stopped him, twisting Naruto around so that Kakashi had the advantage.

"Don't get so hasty. I didn't say "start" yet."

"He just said "start!" attack him already!" Older Sakura cheered. Kakashi's eye widened in surprise and he forgot Naruto and the rest of the group for an instant. Sasuke used this to his benefit and attacked. Kakashi turned to where Older Sakura was perched and Sasuke swung his leg at him. Kakashi easily caught his leg, looking back for a moment. When his focus returned to the strange girl, she was gone.

Sasuke and Sakura retreated into the cover of the leaves. Naruto ran at their sensei yelling

"Let's have a match, fair and square!"

"Aren't you a little weird compared to the others?"

"What's weird is your hairstyle!" Naruto stopped when Kakashi reached into his weapon pouch.

"Ninja tactic know-how number one, taijutsu. I'll teach you that first." Kakashi pulled out Icha Icha Paradise in a dramatic manner, making everyone doubt his Jonin status. Naruto resumed his attack and missed with his hook, roundhouse and punch. Kakashi sat behind him, hands in the seal of the tiger.

"Naruto, run! You're going to die!" Sakura called out. Older Sakura wrapped a piece of paper around a kunai and threw it. Kakashi stopped and looked at the kunai's note.

'Save that move for Uchiha.'

He smiled under his mask, focusing on Naruto again. He kicked Naruto into the water. Sakura watched in amusement as Naruto and Kakashi went through the shadow clones, replacement and finally when Naruto fell into Kakashi's trap. He was hanging upside down and it was funny instead of disappointing this time around.  
"Blah, blah-blah, blah-blah, blah-blah…" Sakura ignored Kakashi's speech (she's already heard it once) and waited for Sasuke to make his move. Once he did, "Kakashi" was hit and fell, revealing a log in his place. Older Sakura decided to bruise Sasuke's ego (because honestly, who doesn't want to bruise an egotistical jerk's self-esteem?) and trailed behind him as he leapt through the trees. She used her chakra to stick to the side of the low, thick branch she was on. She positioned herself correctly and pushed her legs off the branch, using chakra as a boost. She crashed her fists into the branch Sasuke was about to land on.

It was funny watching him fall.

He fell on the ground and rubbed his head, wincing. He looked up in time to see a flash of pink.

'Sakura…' NOW he was angry. Older Sakura twisted around and leapt towards Naruto, landing in behind a bush. She prepared a kunai and slung back her hand a little bit, getting ready to toss the weapon when her younger self ran past. The kunai hand already left her control and whistled past younger Sakura's hair, catching some of it. But the hair did not alter the kunai's direction. It snapped the rope holding Naruto to the tree. She quickly sprung the other trap lying in wait with some shuriken. Naruto curled into a ball and landed on his feet, missing the shuriken by a few inches.

"I'm out! Dattebayo!" Older Sakura left and waited at the place of her next phase of her plan. Oddly, Kakashi wasn't where he should've been. Instead of getting ready to use that genjutsu on Sakura, he was back watching Naruto from a distance. When the Jinchuriki left, Kakashi went to investigate what had happened. He noticed the long pink strand of hair waving in the breeze, stuck to the kunai's tip.

"Maybe Sakura cares for more than Sasuke after all." And with that, he poofed away.

"Sakura, behind you." Kakashi cast the genjutsu. Older Sakura cast another genjutsu over Kakashi's, making it look like younger Sakura had released the genjutsu, when in reality, it was really the Older Sakura.

"Ninja tactic know-how number two, genjutsu. Sakura did good."

"Didn't she?" Older Sakura laughed. Kakashi's eye widened, his hand instinctively shot up to his headband, ready to use his Sharingan. Dojutsu in play and kunai in hand, Kakashi had his weapon at Older Sakura's neck in no time.

"Who are you?" Older Sakura slipped out of his reach and stood in front of him, face-to-face.

"You don't recognize me? I'm hurt Kaka-sensei," Sakura smiled, positioning herself so that he could see younger Sakura looking confused and hopefully would compare faces.

"Don't tell me…"

"Yes?"

"You're…"

"Mmhm?"

"It can't be!"

"So you know who I am?"

"I can't believe it! It's you!"

"Believe it." Since when did Sakura say Naruto's catch phrase?

"Rin! I thought I'd never see you again!"

"What the? No! I'm not Rin! Who's Rin?"

"Then who are you?" Sakura's blood boiled a little at her sensei's stupidity. She cleared her throat and motioned to younger Sakura.

"You honestly don't see the resemblance?!"

"You look like Sakura, but older…" Sakura held her hands in front of her, elbows bent, and rotated her wrists a bit quickly.

"Are you her mother?"

'**SHANNARO!!! KAKASHI CAN'T BE THAT STUPID CAN HE!?!?!?!?'**

"Y' know what? Enough beating around the bush. I'm Sakura from the future. The Fifth Hokage sent me on a mission to alter the time stream and hopefully stop the horrible things that happen."

"And why should I believe you?"

"Because I have a note from the Third that says you should." She said haughtily, reaching into her weapons pouch to retrieve the note. Kakashi scanned the paper, his Sharingan recognizing the Third's handwriting.

"I'll believe you, for now."

Sakura wanted to see Sasuke get beat bad. Really bad. Leaving her younger self alone, she and Kakashi easily tracked down Sasuke's chakra signal and followed it to his location.

"But, I'm different from them." Sasuke was doing a good job on looking totally emo. She shook her head, wondering how she could ever fall for a guy like that.

"Why don't you say that after you get a bell, Sasuke-kun?" Kakashi said the last part in a higher pitch, trying to imitate younger Sakura's voice. Watching them fight wasn't as fun as she had hoped. Sakura got especially irked when Sasuke touched a bell.

"Geez Sasuke, why do you have to be so good?" Sakura muttered under her breath, upset that she hadn't even come close to getting a bell. It cheered her up when Kakashi remembered her note on the kunai and used 1000 Years of Pain on Sasuke, sending him flying, his head crashing into the ground in a very Naruto-like fashion. But it cheered her up even more when Sasuke was pulled underground until only his head was visible. It's times like these when someone really appreciates an immature adult. Sakura supposed you'd have to have a sense of humor to make it through being a ninja without losing yourself.

"This is the third ninja tactics know-how, ninjutsu." Sakura left, remembering that Naruto was going to try to eat the lunches, completely ruining her plan to get Sasuke tied to a post. Naruto was approaching the lunches when she caught him from behind. She held him by the wrists with her left hand, holding the back of his head in place so he couldn't turn and see her face. She didn't want Team 7 to know she was here just yet.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you."

"And why not?"

"If you try to eat the lunches, you'll end up tied to the post. Both you and I want Sasuke tied to that post, right?" Sakura left, taking cover in the leaves to make sure Naruto didn't get the lunches.

"Sasuke tied to a post? That'd be funny…" Naruto chuckled, leaving to find Kakashi. The alarm rang.

"Aww man! I didn't get a bell!" Naruto ran towards the three posts.

"None of you were able to get a bell… now who should get tied to the post?" Kakashi turned towards Older Sakura's hiding place as if to think.

"I think Sasuke should!"

"WHAT DID YOU SAY NARUTO?!?!?!?!?!" An irritated Sakura shot Naruto a threatening look.

"I said I thought I should get tied to the post." He answered meekly. But Older Sakura knew Kakashi was talking to her. She decided to give him an answer and scare the genin a little. Sakura cast a genjutsu, the sky suddenly darkening, thunder cracking, lightning flashing and wind blowing harshly. He turned back to Team 7. Naruto jumped into Sakura's arms in a Scooby-Doo fashion, the girl dropping him uncaringly and moved behind Sasuke uncertainly. Said Uchiha seemed unafraid, passing it off as a regular storm. When Kakashi told him otherwise, he whipped out a kunai, but Older Sakura saw him shiver a bit.

"Sasuke…" The wind whispered, drawling it out in a way that only bad guys did it. The wind died down and the weather cleared. Kakashi closed his eye, it moved into an upward arch, meaning he was smiling.

"Sasuke it is!"

Great-almighty Uchihas tied to posts are funny. 'Nuff said.

Kakashi played his little game. The You-are-not-going-back-to-the-Academy-and-even-though-you-think-you-passed-you-are-really-being-dropped-from-the-program. But this time Sasuke wasn't able to charge at Kakashi and get stepped and sat upon. Hehe… 'upon' is a funny word. Ahem, sorry. And then he went through his teamwork speech.

After that he went to the Memorial Stone.

He mourned over whom he had lost. So did Sasuke. So did older Sakura. She lost Pervy Sage (They weren't particularly close, but still), Tsunade was in a coma, Sasuke… And among so many others.

'I won't let them die this time.' Sakura vowed to herself.

Kakashi left and older Sakura joined him.

"Are they going to break the rules?" He asked her.

"I don't know, my time around it was Naruto tied to the post and Sasuke offered his lunch to him, making me want to do the same. But this time… Naruto is too anti-Sasuke, but then again, Sasuke was anti-Naruto and still offered his food. My past self is rule-savvy, but is obsessed with Sasuke. I think they'll break the rules soon enough."

"So this time Sasuke is strapped to the log?"

"I wanted Sasuke tied to the post this time, pay-back for… something." Kakashi raised his eyebrow.

"Why are you punishing him for something he hasn't done yet?"

"YET! Yet! Yet, Kakashi-sensei, YET!!!" Sakura hissed, jabbing her finger at his chest. They looked back just in time to see a flushed Sakura feeding Sasuke, who looked absolutely humiliated.

"There's your cue Kakashi-sensei!"

Explosion.

Boom.

"YOU THREE!!!!!!!"

Scream/defensive position.

"You three broke the rule!! Are you prepared for the punishment!?"

Hand seals.

Darkening sky.

Cracking thunder.

Flashing lightning.

"Any last words?" It was so hard for older Sakura not to laugh.

"B-but…"

"?"

"But…but…but… You said…! That's why we…"

"We're a three man team right?" Older Sakura couldn't take it anymore. Either hightail it or laugh and "ruin the illusion". She got out of there and exhaled deeply.

"Whew! That was a close one!" Sakura laughed, opening her door. She knew how things would turn out for Team 7, she could save those who needed saving.

Maybe she could stop Sasuke from leaving. Kakashi poofed into her room.

"So how did Team 7 do?" Sakura asked casually, as if she didn't know.

"They passed, but I came here for something else."

"What?"

"The Hokage wants to see you right away." Sakura raised her eyebrow and left.

"Yes Hokage-sama?"

"I need to ask you something." Sakura cocked a brow suspiciously.

"What's the problem?"

"_How'd you like to…"_


	2. Haku and Zabuza, Rematch!

Chapter 2

(Episodes 6-9)

"How'd you like to act as Konoha's superhero?"

"Superhero?" Sakura repeated, her voice drawled. "We live in a village full of ninjas, why do we need a superhero?" Geez, she knew the Third was old but…

"We need someone to remind the villagers that there are ninjas. They usually don't know any one ninja. We've just recovered from a war and the civilians are on edge. They need a certain ninja to establish a belief and sense of protection in. Our ninjas are dying, and seeing as you've come as far as you have, you'd be perfect." He explained knowingly. Sakura blinked. Once . . . twice . . . thrice . . . four times.

"And besides, if you go around like you have, someone's going to suspect something, a Sakura Haruno look-a-like wandering around the village."

"But I am Sakura Haruno, not a look-a-like."

"But they don't know that. What are we going to do? Say that Sakura Haruno has come from the future because in three years everything is going to go terribly wrong?" Sakura let out a defeated sigh.

"Fine, I'll be Konoha's superhero."

"Great, an almost ANBU-looking outfit and now for the ridiculous name." Sakura's mocking voice leaked underneath her mask.

**(A/N Don't give a damn about the costume description? Skip this paragraph.)**

Her clothes consisted of a white dress with a pink strip on her ribcage area with a five-petal sakura blossom on her stomach. A slit on the right side from Sakura's waist down ensured more movement and a thin, pink fabric belt held up her weapon pouch. Mesh made up the front and back of her upper torso area. Over Sakura's biceps were a mesh covering bordered by more pink fabric. The same kind of pink fabric wrapped around her lower legs and the middle of her lower arms (seven strips and two respectively). A lighter pink, almost translucent scarf wrapped around her neck and over her right shoulder effectively hid her white communication device, (it was like a choker and is connected to an ear bud) which allowed her to convey important information to the Hokage. Tight, white shorts that went down to about three centimeters above Sakura's knees were underneath the dress that went to down to her mid-thigh. White gloves similar to her previous ones protected her hands from the impact that would be produced by her superhuman strength. Sakura wore black sandals, not the traditional ones but a more simple design. Her hair was done up into an elaborate bun, with three pins with a white sphere and white dangling strings decorating the top of each. Her pastel locks framed a mask with designs more intricate than those on other ANBU masks. The eye marks were fierce, yet elegant in appearance. Another five-petal sakura blossom adorned the forehead and markings faintly resembling chakra wisps decorated each cheek. In each hand she held a metal folding fan (like Temari's but MUCH smaller) with cherry blossoms featured on it.

"I feel so stupid." Sakura muttered darkly.

"But you look absolutely beautiful Sakura." The Hokage praising her didn't help her self-esteem.

"So what's the name of your superhero?" Sakura deadpanned.

"What about Super Sakura?"

"Nah, to cliché."

"What about Sakura Tenshi?"

"No, just no."

"What's your suggestion?"

"What kind of superhero name is that!? Oh, wait; never mind. I'll settle for something short."

"Tenshi?"

"Tenshi's good."

"Okay."

"Okay."

"Yup."

"So what do I do?"

"Whatever you want."

"May I join my original team for their mission?" Tenshi asked, remembering that this was around the time in which her team went to the Land of Waves to help Tazuna build the bridge.

"It's only going to be a D-rank."

"I know what I'm doing."

"If you insist I will allow you to take on a C-ranked mission. It's to escort a certain person."

"Really!? Who? Who? The feudal lord? Or a princess?"

"Don't get so hasty. I'll introduce him now. Can you please come in now?" All of Team 7 turned towards the doorway. The door creaked, a hand opened the door and a person entered.

"I thought you said 'him' Hokage-sama." Kakashi observed. Instead of Tazuna standing in the doorway, it was Tenshi.

"Sorry, but you're not escorting me." Tenshi (Older Sakura in case you haven't caught on yet) smirked under her mask. "I'm a last-minute addition to your team."

"So who are we escorting?" Naruto asked, examining his new teammate. Tenshi stepped out of the doorway and into the room, revealing the man behind her.

-fanfare- Tazuna.

"What? They're all kids!" He gulped down a mouthful of alcohol. Obviously drunk, he didn't seem to notice Kakashi and Tenshi, despite the fact that Tenshi was just standing in front of him a few seconds ago. "Hey, is the smallest one there with the idiotic face really a ninja?" Naruto laughed.

"Who's the smallest one with the idiotic face?" Sakura and Sasuke looked at him and stepped closer to him. Tenshi mentally measured them, remembering how Naruto was the shortest, later the shortest one being herself.

"That'd be you," Tenshi muttered.

"I'm going to kill you!!!" Kakashi grabbed the boy's collar.

"Don't kill the man you're supposed to escort, idiot."

"I am the bridge building expert Tazuna. Once I have returned to my country, I will have all of you protect my life with yours while I complete the bridge."

"All right! Let's go!"

"What are you all excited for?"

"Because I've never gone outside the village before."

"Hey, will a kid like this really be capable of this mission?" Tenshi scoffed at the question.

"Of course! You might not believe it, but Naruto is an excellent ninja." She retorted rudely.

"I doubt that, he's just as helpful as a piece of wood." Her younger self responded confidently, "Sasuke-kun's MUCH cooler!" Tenshi faced Sakura with an intimidating aura of malice and malevolence.

"I know you'll find it hard to be living up to a piece of wood Sakura. Naruto will grow to be one of the most respected ninja in Konoha. Got that?" Sakura shivered and hid behind Sasuke, said Uchiha sighing.

**"Geez, Tenshi? More like the devil!"**

"Yes ma'am, um… What's your name?"

"Tenshi," Older Sakura said, amazed at how easily frightened her younger self was. She glanced at Kakashi, hoping he'd knew who she really was. He nodded in response.

"Hey, geezer, don't underestimate ninjas! I'm a great shinobi! I'm the elite ninja who will receive the title of Hokage one day. The name is Uzumaki Naruto. Remember it!"

"Hokage is the village's number one ninja, right? I don't think a guy like you can become one."

"Shut up! I'm willing to go through an hardship to become a Hokage!"

"HEY! Listen up you two! Let's just get to the Tazuna's country. The quicker we get there, the less you have to deal with him Naruto!" Tenshi ordered. She had nothing against Tazuna, in fact, she liked the guy. But she couldn't stand it when people insulted Naruto; after all he's done for her. The two grudgingly consented to her command. Tenshi noticed two new chakra signatures in the area, telling herself not to look at them, should they catch onto her.

"Hey, Tazuna-san?"

"What is it?"

"You're from the Country of the Wave, right?"

"What about it?"

"Kakashi-sensei, are there also ninja in that country?"

"No, there are no shinobi in the Country . . . "

Let's skip the rest of this speech.

"You all just doubted Hokage-sama in your minds, didn't you?" Kakashi asked sternly. Sakura and Naruto shook their heads way too quickly.

"They didn't just doubt him…" They two shinobi relaxed a little at Tenshi's comment. "They doubted, insulted, and criticized him."

"Are you a mind reader, Tenshi?" Naruto asked with wide eyes. Tenshi sighed.

"Yes, Naruto, yes I am."

"Sweet! What am I thinking!?" She rolled her eyes.

"Ramen."

"Wow! You're good! What am I thinking now?"

"Can I hit him?" Tenshi asked Kakashi.

"You're right again! I wish I had mind reading powers!"

Tenshi noticed the puddle, that dire piece of information that she had failed to perceive the last time.

Two ninja leapt out of the puddle, chaining Kakashi up. Tenshi reached into her weapon pouch and whipped out her weapons.

"What!?"

"First one." The enemy ninja announced, tearing Kakashi into shreds. His bloodied remains falling to the ground. Sakura screamed in terror.

"Kakashi-sensei!" The ninja teleported behind Naruto.

"Second one." The Demon Brothers prepared for the kill.

"Not if I can help it! CHA!" Tenshi pinned shuriken to the chains before Sasuke could even move. Pulling out her fans, she sent chakra through the fan, utilizing them as an extension of a chakra scalpel. She used them to sever the chains to bits only a few inches long. With amazing speed Tenshi used the fans to cut the tissue in the Demon brothers' arms, making them nothing but deadweight. They ran from her. Sasuke seemed mad that he didn't get to show off.

"Why didn't you finish them?"

"We need them for information." Tenshi answered calmly, wondering for the second time how she had ever fallen for the guy. Gouzu, the one in the cape, targeted Sakura and Tazuna. Tenshi watched her younger self panic, instead of helping Sakura, she was taking care of Meizu, disabling his legs as well as his arms. She knew Sasuke would redeem himself by saving her younger self.

"Stay back mister!" Sakura took a defensive position in front of Tazuna. Sasuke flickered from Tenshi's side to in front of Sakura, not really in an offensive stance, puzzling Saku. She also saw something she hadn't seen before (Of course she didn't see it then, he was in front of her), a fierce determination to protect in his expression.

Kakashi caught Gouzu's neck.

"Yo."

Sakura was ecstatic to find her sensei alive.

Tenshi was unimpressed, she'd seen this once before.

Sasuke was upset he didn't get to fight anyone, thinking Kakashi was a show-off. Tenshi laughed at his expression, getting her some odd looks from the others.

Naruto mirrored Sakura's delight.

"Naruto, sorry for not helping out right away," Kakashi apologized. Tenshi tucked Meizu under her arm, the man screaming incoherent words, although Tenshi was able to pick out a few choice terms. "I got you hurt. I didn't think you wouldn't be able to move." Tazuna sighed in relief that he was saved.

"Good work Tenshi, better than I thought." Said ninja pouted.

"Did you think I would panic like Sasuke and Sakura?" She replied haughtily. Naruto laughed and Sasuke and Sakura looked embarrassed.

"If you and Kakashi hadn't gotten in the way I could've done something!" Although Tenshi knew this was true, it was fun to press Sasuke's buttons.

"If I hadn't done anything, you guys would be dead. Better pick up the pace and stop moving at a snail's speed!"

"You can't insult Sasuke-kun like that!" Sakura screamed. Tenshi put her hands on her hips.

"I just did." She drawled. That ought to put Sasuke down for a while, maybe he won't . . .

"Hey, are you hurt, Mr. Scaredy Cat?" Nope, he would.

"Look who's talking Sasuke, he was just as helpful as you. In fact, he was their second target, while Kakashi was their first. That means Naruto's more of a threat to them than you are!" Tenshi retorted.

"So Naruto's stronger than you too!" Sakura said triumphantly, proud to have put down the other pinkette.

"**That'll teach her! Messing with our Sasuke-kun!" **Inner Sakura cheered. Tenshi seemed undaunted.

"Of course he is, he's going to be the Hokage, remember?" That didn't help Naruto from blowing up.

"SASUKE!!!"

"Naruto! There's poison on these guys' nails. We need to take out the poison right away."

"What?"

"We have to open up our wound and leech out the poisoned blood. Don't move that much, or the poison will spread through you body. By the way, Mr. Tazuna."

"W-what?"

"I need to talk to you."

Fast forward a bit . . .

"This mission is out of our league, we should quit. We need anesthesia to take out the poisoned blood out of Naruto, too. We need to go back to the village and see a doctor!"

"This sure is a burden. Let's go back to the village to cure Naruto." Kakashi agreed with the younger pinkette.

Naruto thrust a kunai into his hand.

"Why am I so different . . . Why am I always . . . Damn it!"

"Naruto, what are you doing?" The blonde ignored her.

"He's being more emo than Sasuke . . . " Tenshi whispered to herself.

"I should be stronger . . . I've accomplished lots of missions and I've practiced techniques every day . . . I'm never going to do something that will require someone to help me. I'm never going to be frightened and try to back out of things. I'm not going to lose to Sasuke. I vow that to this pain in my left hand. I'm going to protect the old man with this kunai! This mission is still on."

"Naruto? It's cool how you did that and that was an amazing speech and all, but lose any more blood and you're gonna die." Tenshi warned.

Silence.

"It's not good if you don't stop it right away. Seriously," Kakashi grinned under his mask. Tenshi sighed and approached the orange clad ninja.

"Don't worry, I'm a medic and you'll survive." Tenshi put her hand over Naruto's bleeding wound, the green chakra emitting from it. "Just calm down Naruto." The healing process was almost instantaneous. The other shinobi were impressed, let's take a look at their thoughts, now shall we?

Sasuke: Just who is this person anyways?

Sakura: Wow, that's amazing . . . She can heal wounds no problem!

Kakashi: I wonder how much she knows about this mission and the art of healing. I'd like to see how powerful she is.

Tazuna: Incredible, this girl could help a lot in this mission

Naruto: Ramen . . . I wonder how Tenshi knows all this stuff

Tenshi: I wonder how long it will be before people start to wonder who I really am . . .

"Failed?! I spent a lot of money to hire all of you because I heard you all were skilled ninja!"

"Stop complaining. I'll use this decapitating "knife" and kill that guy."

"Are you really sure you guys will be okay? It looks like the enemy has hired good ninjas . . . and since the Demon Brothers failed in the assassination, they'll be more cautious, so it won't be easy . . ."

"Who do you think I am? I, Momochi Zabuza, was called the Demon of the Hidden Village of Mist."

The five shinobi and Tazuna floated through the mist. The tension just as thick as the fog.

"The mist is so thick. I can't see what's ahead." Sakura said, almost afraid. Tenshi nodded in agreement, the haze seemed thicker than last time.

"We should be able to see the bridge soon. If we move along the side of the bridge, we'll be at the Country of the Wave." They passed by the half-finished bridge, construction tools looming in the mist like wary guardians.

"It's huge!"

"Hey, be quiet!"

Tenshi only half listened to the following conversation, really trying to come up with a way to save Haku and Zabuza. They were good, they were just following orders. Naruto once said that at a different time and place, they could've been friends. Tsunade had ordered her to change the past. Stop Orochimaru, Sasuke and Akatsuki. But that didn't mean she couldn't make a side trip. After all she was a medic.

And it was a medic's job to save lives.

It was around this time that Tazuna played the sympathy card.

"Tenshi, you've been awfully quiet." Kakashi said. She looked up at the man across from her.

"I- I just have a lot on my mind." They entered, the mist cleared up immediately. They led Tazuna to his home. Naruto threw his kunai at the poor rabbit.

"But I really did sense someone!" And Tenshi knew that he did. She joined Kakashi and he nodded to him. She knew what was going on, but it was only a matter of time before Kakashi caught up.

Before Zabuza arrived.

He already had. In fact, Zabuza was already assessing the situation. Realizing that Kakashi was among the group was the first thing that he figured out. Sharingan Kakashi, a group of genin, and an unknown person.

'Definitely not famous, but her amount of chakra and the power exuding from her is startling'

"NOW!" Tenshi whipped around, fans in hand.

"Everyone duck!" Kakashi commanded.

'Zabuza.' Tenshi was ready to face the infamous swordsman.

"Oh, my, my, you are Momochi Zabuza, the exiled ninja of the Hidden Village of Mist." Kakashi addressed his team, "You're in the way. Stay back everyone. Tenshi, come." Older Sakura approached cautiously.

"Why!? How come only Tenshi!?"

"He's way different from the guys we met before. If he's our enemy . . . I can't win like this," Kakashi's hand held his headband.

"I'm guessing you are Kakashi the Sharingan user." Tenshi could hear Sasuke gasp. "I'm sorry, but I'll need you to hand over the geezer."

"I'm sorry but we're not gonna!" Tenshi answered in a mock voice.

"Then I'll take him by force!"

"Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, you're all too weak to battle this high class ninja, I'm probably going to die protecting you guys, but that doesn't matter because as long as he lives, we get paid."

"What?" Sakura questioned.

"To not interfere with the battle is teamwork . . . Fight me." Kakashi revealed his Sharingan.

"I'm honored that I can see the Sharingan that I've heard about." Hm, didn't seem honored.

"You guys have been saying Sharingan, but what is it?" Naruto asked. Sasuke answered, the Sharingan was in the Uchiha blood after all.

"Sharingan . . . The eye creates it, and it is the power that the pupil generates . . . " Tenshi ignored him, she'd seen Sharingan enough times to see what it did. The mist suddenly thickened. Zabuza continued to talk, his voice rung in Older Sakura's ears.

"Kakashi is one of the greatest ninjas in Konoha. I'm surprised you haven't heard about him." Tenshi said, as if reading Sakura's mind (ha ha). But she didn't need mind reading powers to know what Sakura was thinking.

Zabuza demanded to get Tazuna, to kill him. But he knew had to get through Kakashi and Tenshi first. He moved to the water. Tenshi dug through her memory desperately.

'Ugh, what happens next!?' Tenshi knit her eyebrows in concentration. Her eyes widened in remembrance.

"He's going to use mist concealment Kakashi-sensei." She whispered; he nodded.

"He disappeared!" Naruto was almost scared.

"Sensei!"

"He'll try to eliminate me first, but . . . "

"What is he?"

"Zabuza Momochi, he was famous for his silent killing techniques while in Mist's ANBU. A very dangerous rogue ninja. One wrong move, you'll be dead before you know it. Literally." Tenshi explained, unable to help adding the last part. Kakashi nodded.

"And I can't use my Sharingan to its fullest potential, so don't let you guard down."

"No pressure though," Tenshi started to joke, "If you make one mistake you'll only lose you life, the mission will fail and kami knows what else!" The genin shivered.

"You're so carefree!" Sakura scolded.

"I have a reason to be." The elder girl said simply. 'We'll all survive.'

"The mist is getting thicker!" Naruto exclaimed.

"Now if only it were natural . . . " The older pinkette sighed.

"Eight points." The voice came from all directions, impossible to pinpoint the source.

"What is it?"

"The larynx, spine, lungs, liver, jugular vein, collarbone, kidney and heart. Now, which vital organ do you want to get struck at?"

"The collarbone is fine for me!" Tenshi chirped happily. Sasuke sounded annoyed, but she wouldn't be able to see his expression through the fog.

"This is hardly the time to be kidding around!"

"We EXCUSE me for trying to lighten the mood Sir Bastard sir!" Tenshi retorted.

"Stop insulting Sasuke-kun!"

"Calm down!" Kakashi instructed, everyone shutting up. He formed the seal of the ram and cleared the haze with his chakra. Sasuke started shivering. Older Sakura felt no need to comfort him, letting Kakashi do that.

"Don't worry. I'll protect the three of you with my life."

"Me too . . ." Tenshi whispered, her voice barely audible. She couldn't believe she just said that. 'Damn, I am so cheesy . . . "

"I don't know about that." Tenshi, who was between the group of Genin and their Jonin leader, sped to Tazuna's side. Zabuza appeared between the Genin and their client. "This is the end."

"Not if I can help it." Tenshi stood on the Decapitator, her kunai to his jugular vein. "One wrong move Zabuza and you're dead." She wasn't really going to kill him, in fact, she was trying to save him.

"I don't think so." The real one stood behind her, his sword to the back of her neck. Tenshi cursed under her breath and activated some of her chakra. She had forgotten that the one in front of her was a water clone. Zabuza started at the spike in her chakra and thrust the sword into her neck.

"TENSHI!!!" Naruto cried. Kakashi had come to her aide.

Tenshi's skin split on her neck, her breaths became shallow. She dissolved into a flurry of cherry blossoms. Kakashi used Zabuza's surprise to his advantage and stabbed his water clone with a kunai (though he had yet to realize it was a water clone).

"Sensei! Behind you!" Too late Naruto.

"DIE!" Naruto's eyes started to water when Tenshi placed her hand on his shoulder and nodded, motioning for him to look again. Zabuza sliced Kakashi in half, the Leaf shinobi turned into water. Kakashi put his kunai to the missing-nin's neck.

"Don't move. This is the end."

"Wow!"

Zabuza laughed.

"Is this the end? You don't understand. You can't defeat me with just your indiscriminate imitations. I can assure you that. But you're pretty good. I see that you've copied my water clone technique when you said, "I won't let anyone on my team die". By making your clone speak as if it was the real one . . . " Yada, yada, yada . . . Tenshi yawned mockingly. Zabuza appeared behind Kakashi.

"And this is why clones get annoying sometimes," Tenshi began, "It's an endless cycle: Kakashi clone, Zabuza clone, Kakashi clone, Zabuza clone, Kakashi clone, Zabuza clone, Kakashi clone, Zabuza clone, Kakashi clone, Zabuza clone, Kakashi clone, Zabuza clone, Kakashi clone, Zabuza clone, Kakashi clone, Zabuza clone, Kakashi clone, Zabuza clone, Kakashi clone, Zabuza clone, Kakashi clone, Zabuza clone, Kakashi clone, Zabuza clone, Kaka-"

"Shut up!" Zabuza roared at her, threatening her with his kunai. Kakashi drew on the diversion to back-kick Zabuza. The Mist ninja doubled over in pain, coughing out some blood. He wanted revenge (even if it was little) and kicked Kakashi, who went flying for the water.

"Be careful Kakashi-sensei! If you go into the water you'll be trapped!" Tenshi called, taking a few steps toward him when something cold stopped her in her tracks. The semi-circle near the hilt of the sword encompassed her neck.

"You'll be joining him too girl." Zabuza removed the blade and grabbed her by the neck.

"Tenshi-san!" Sakura choked. He threw her into the cover of the trees where Haku was lying in wait. Great, now she was trapped and so was Kakashi, who was now caught in the water prison.

'I thought I was supposed to be helping, not getting caught . . .' Tenshi thought miserably.

"If you move I'll be forced to hurt you," Haku's soft voice said, her back to his face. She concentrated her chakra and had a blossom clone replace her, the real Tenshi slipping away to help the genin team. When she found the right way back (Zabuza had quite an arm, threw her pretty far), Sasuke was held up in the air with Zabuza's hand around his neck. The rogue threw him towards Tenshi unknowingly. Her arms wrapped around his stomach, his face to the left of hers; Tenshi caught him, sliding back a meter or two. When they stopped skidding back, she turned her face so it was facing him.

"Gotcha Sasuke," She reassured the shaken ninja. She helped him to his feet.

"Tenshi-san!" Sakura and Naruto shouted in unison. Older Sakura took a stance and laughed lightly.

"Sorry Zabuza, but it's going to take more than that to get rid of me."

'I'll just let Tenshi do the fighting, she's strong. This is a Jonin, a real ninja. I'm no match.' Naruto turned to push himself up when his hand felt a sudden pain shoot through and he winced. He remembered the vow he made to himself. The memory of how he got his headband, the one being crushed underneath Zabuza's foot. Passing Kakashi's test. Ah, flashbacks . . .

He charged at Zabuza.

"Idiot! Stop!"

"Naruto! What are you thinking?!" Sakura started panicking.

"Sakura, what are you thinking? You haven't done anything yet, nothing to complete this mission." Tenshi said softly.

Blood flew and Naruto came rolling back.

"Naruto has the guts to charge in like that and aim to stop Zabuza. He's trying."

Naruto struggled to his feet, forehead protector in hand.

"Your teammates are putting their life on the line, they know what it means to be a ninja."

"Hey . . . the no-brow there . . . Put this in your bingo book . . . The man who will become the Hokage of the Hidden Village of Konoha one day . . . " Naruto put his hitai-ite back in its place, "The Konoha-style ninja . . . Uzumaki Naruto!" Tenshi nodded approvingly.

"Naruto . . . " Kakashi had never seen such a determined ninja before.

"Sasuke, listen to me for a second. Tenshi, help guard Tazuna just in case." It was kind of nostalgic to be on the sidelines again.

"What do you want?"

"I have a plan."

"Hn, I can't believe you want to work as a team."

"Don't ruin my moment!"

"You seem to be confident, but do you even have a chance for victory?" Zabuza said mockingly.

"We have much more than a chance." Tenshi replied calmly.

"What are you all doing?! I told you to run away! The destiny of this battle was decided when I got caught! Run!" Geez, Neji much? "Our mission is to protect Tazuna-san. Did you forget that?!" Naruto turned towards Tazuna.

"Old man?"

"Don't worry, I caused all of this in the first place. I won't say that I want to survive no matter what. Sorry, everyone. Fight as much as you want."

"Hn. That's how it is." We all know who said that.

"Are you ready?"

Zabuza laughed again. For a bad-ish guy he sure laughs a lot.

"You sure don't learn, do you?"

"Nani?"

"Still pretending to be ninja?"

"Why don't you fight already? There's been more dialogue in this battle that kicks and punches! WOULD SOMEONE JUST GET BEAT UP ALREADY?!?!?!" Tenshi yelled, exasperated.

-insert long speech here even though older Sakura said not to-

Zabuza struck Sasuke, sending back him back, he landed, sprawled out on the ground. The older ninja lunged again, elbowing Sasuke in the stomach, making him cough out blood.

"Sasuke-kun!" Tenshi couldn't stand waiting on the sidelines again. That was a horrible past she never wanted to revisit. Tenshi took a few steps back before head butting the rogue off of Sasuke and back twenty meters.

"Kage Bushin no Jutsu!" Naruto replicated himself around Zabuza. The orange-wearing shinobi drew his kunai and tackled the Mist ninja. Tenshi used this time to retrieve Sasuke and heal him. Zabuza cut through the clones with ease.

"It's impossible! You can't beat a guy like that!" Tazuna exclaimed. Tenshi looked at him.

"You never know, stranger things have happened." (Bwah ha ha, foreshadowing!!!)

They watched as Sasuke and Naruto performed their Fuuma Shuriken, Shadow Windmill trick.

Sasuke jumped in the air and threw the shuriken, and from where Tenshi was standing, it looked vaguely like the Uchiha was being sucked into a black hole. The real Zabuza caught the shuriken and dodged the shadow shuriken. Said shadow shuriken turned into Naruto.

He threw a kunai.

Zabuza removed his hand from Kakashi's prison. Letting him free.

"Nice work, Sasuke, Naruto." Tenshi smiled.

Talk, talk, talk.

FLASHBACK.

Explanation of Fuuma Shuriken trick.

END FLASHBACK.

Talk, talk, talk.

Awkward silence.

Sasuke breaks silence, telling Sakura not to let her guard down.

Kakashi and Zabuza face off.

They started the hand signs for the Water Dragon Technique.

"NARUTO!!! GET OUT OF THERE!!!" Tenshi called, rushing to his aide. She ran across the water and to his side, pulling him out and jumping back to his teammates. The dragons rose from the water, flooding the terrain.

Tenshi formed a chakra barrier, the water rushing past them. Tenshi stayed back, she knew that if she interfered at the slightest Zabuza would die before Haku could save him, so she stayed back. Tenshi bit her lip, unable to stand the suspense. She drew blood, tasting the iron in her mouth. The water was roused again, forcing older Sakura to put up the barrier again. Haku was coming right about . . .

Cling! Cling! Cling!

Now.

There stood Haku on that branch, Zabuza "dead". Kakashi checked for a pulse, finding none, he confirmed his death.

Haku thanked them.

"That mask . . . If I remember correctly, you must be a hunter-nin from the Hidden Village of the Mist." Kakashi observed.

"You are very well informed."

"A hunter-nin?"

"You don't even know what a hunter-nin is? You should have learned that in the academy! Hunter-nins are those who assassinate exile ninja like Zabuza who, for some reason, go against the village they were born in." Sakura explained. Tenshi shot a sideways glance at Sasuke. "They do it to conceal any secret of their village. That's commonsense! You should study more."

Naruto confronted Haku, demanding for an explanation. He wanted to know how someone no older than him could take down someone so powerful. Haku picked up Zabuza's body and left, stirring leaves as he went.

"He disappeared!"  
"He's not around here anymore." Naruto fell to his knees and punched the ground.

"What was that?! What were we . . . ?!"

"Naruto . . . "

Naruto started cursing, punching the ground harder and harder. Tenshi walked up behind him and caught his hand, the one he made his promise on.

"You've done your part, Naruto. You saved and protected Tazuna so he could live another day. That's enough." Naruto consented grudgingly.

"Our mission isn't done yet." Kakashi announced. "We need to take Tazuna-san to his house."

"Sorry about that, everyone! Just rest at my house!"

"Yosh, let's cheer up and go!" Kakashi took a step and froze. He started to collapse when Tenshi caught him.

"What happened!?" Sakura cried.

"Kakashi-sensei . . . ?" Naruto's heart leapt to his throat.

"It's okay!" Tenshi hushed Naruto before he yelled. "He just used up too much chakra because of his prolonged utilization of the Sharingan. Kakashi will be alright."


	3. Appreciation of the Cherry Blossom

Chapter 3

(Episodes 10-12)

Kakashi was bedridden.

Not that that was unusual for older Sakura.

"Sensei's awake" Naruto came clambering into the room.

"Sharingan is amazing but it puts a lot of strain on the body. I'm not sure it it's good or bad." Sakura observed.

"For Kakashi, the Sharingan is like a double-edged sword. It helps him in battle but afterwards he's a mess. For Uchiha though, there are usually no after effects." Tenshi explained, examining her sensei.

"But you defeated such a strong ninja. We should be okay for a while." The bridge builder piped up.

"By the way, who was that boy with the mask?"

"He was part of the Hidden Mist ANBU Black Ops. They wear masks to conceal their identity."

"Does that mean that Tenshi-san is from ANBU!" Naruto's eyes widened. Tenshi shook her head.

"I was given this mask by Hokage-sama, but I'm not in ANBU. I'm actually only of Chunin rank, even though I've defeated S-class criminals in my day. Another thing that differentiate ANBU from other shinobi is a tattoo. For females, the tattoo is located on the right shoulder," She pointed to show them there was no tattoo, "And for males, the tattoo is located on the left."

"Wow! S ranked criminals! That's amazing!"

"In that case, why were you given that mask?" Sasuke asked warily.

"One: to conceal my identity and two: . . . Well, you'll find out later."

"What's wrong sensei?" Naruto asked bored out of his mind.

"Oh, about what I was talking about before . . . Pursuing ninja are supposed to eliminate the corpse on the spot."

"So?"

"What did the boy with the mask do to Zabuza?" Kakashi asked Sakura.

"How should I know? That masked boy took Zabuza away."

"Exactly my point! All he needed to do was bring back his head as proof. Also, the weapon that the boy used to kill Zabuza is questionable."

"It was just a long needle." Sasuke stated. Tenshi nodded and pulled some out of her weapon pouch.

"They're called senbon, they can be used to kill, but the spot that the boy threw them at were not fatal. They were used to put Zabuza in a death like state."

"That means . . ." Sakura shivered.

"Zabuza is still alive."

"Yes, in fact, that hunter-nin wasn't a hunter-nin at all. He was helping Zabuza." Tenshi said darkly.

"Perhaps you guys are over reacting."

"No, once a ninja feels that there's something weird, he must prepare for it before it's too late. It's one of the ninja's iron rules." Naruto trembled in excitement, happy that he may redeem himself.

"Sensei, how are you going to prepare for this before it's too late? You can't move for a while . . ."

"Tenshi is a medic right? Can't she heal him?" Naruto asked. Older Sakura shook her head sadly.

"I'm a medic nin, but the source of Kakashi's near-immobility is his missing chakra. I can heal wounds, but I can't lend him my chakra, sorry," Tenshi replied. "But Kakashi doesn't have to be able to move to train you guys."

"Yeah! This is going to be interesting!"

"No it isn't"

'And here comes even Mr. More-Emo-Than-Sasuke . . . ' Tenshi rolled her eyes.

"Who are you?"

"Inari! Where were you?" Tazuna asked merrily.

"I'm here Grandpa!" Wow, bipolar much?

"Inari, say hello to them. These are ninja that escorted Grandpa." Inari's mother instructed.

"It's okay. Right Inari?" And then he says . . .

"Mom, they're going to die. There's no way a person can win by going against Gato."

"Supportive much?" Tenshi mumbled, leaning against the doorway with her arms crossed.

"What did you say, brat?"

"He said that we're going to die and no one can win against Gato," Older Sakura yawned and stretched. "I'll be in the forest if ya need me." She walked out of the house and to the training area that Team 7 would meet up at later. She drowsily walked up a tree and nestled herself into the crook of the trunk and a thick branch.

"Time traveling sure takes a lot out of a girl . . . " Tenshi yawned.

"Tenshi, can you give us an example?"

'Nani?' Older Sakura woke groggily. "Example?" She felt herself slipping.

"HOLY CRAP!"

Tenshi fell off the tree.

"Ouch," Tenshi winced when she put her hand to her head. "That's going to leave a mark . . ."

"You're a Chunin?" Sasuke smirked. Tenshi raised a brow at him, even though she knew he couldn't see.

"And that, students, is why you don't fall asleep in a tree," Older Sakura ignored him, stretching her back. "So what about an example?"

"Show them how to climb a tree," Kakashi answered from his place on the branch. "All the way to the top." The pinkette shrugged and walked toward a tree. She walked up the tree, whistling a tune. Didn't even need to use a hand sign.

"Well this training is going to be too easy for me!" Naruto said loudly, grabbing the kunai from the ground. "Since I'm the one who is growing the most right now."

"Okay, be quiet. Try and climb up any of the trees," Kakashi instructed.

"And if you need me, and I know you WON'T, I'll be sleeping," Tenshi half-snapped, putting herself in a comfortable position.

"I thought she said not to fall asleep in a tree . . . " Sakura sighed.

The Chunin fell asleep just in time to hear Sasuke curse at her younger self's talent.

Haku is hot when he's angry!

We're ignoring that.

Sakura yawned.

"You look bored by yourself. Where' s that blonde kid and that arrogant guy?"

"They're training with a tree climbing exercise." She answered.

"What about you?"

"I'm so smart, so Kakashi-sensei told me to guard you," the younger girl answered egotistically.

"Really? What about the masked girl? She's better protection than you."

'Why you . . . '

"She may be a good ninja, but she's lazy," Sakura retorted haughtily.

"I'm not lazy, just really tired. I used up a lot of chakra the other day and fighting Zabuza isn't helping my chakra recover," Tenshi replied, stretching her arms. "You'd be tired too if you did what I had to do."

"Says who?" The younger girl's voice rose.

"Says me," The elder answered simply. 'Geez, was I really this supercilious back then?'

Older Sakura ignored Sakura's rant and turned her attention to Zabuza and his worker.

"Why don't we stop building this bridge?"

"I can't do that, this bridge is our bridge. This is the bridge that we've been building with the people of the town in hopes that distribution and transportation will increase to this poor Country of the Wave, which possesses few resources."

"But if we die-"

"It's already lunch time. Let's stop for now."

"Oh! Lunch time Sakura! Let's go eat!" Tenshi forgot about the problem for a while and dragged the younger girl back with her.

"This country is withering into nothingness and all you can think about is your stomach? We don't know what's going to happen to this country if Gato gets to us!" Sakura yelled. Tenshi stopped and closed her eyes.

"I've been through this before. I do know what's going to happen to this country," She whispered softly to herself.

"You what?" Older Sakura snapped back to reality.

"U-uh . . . Nothing . . . "

"Hey, how long until Sakura and Tazuna get here? I'm hungry!" Tenshi complained, kicking her feet up on the chair next to her.

"Feet off the chair!" Tsunami scolded her. Older Sakura put her feet down and pouted.

The door slid open.

"Finally! Something to eat!" Tenshi cheered. She took the groceries and ran them to Tsunami. "Can't wait to eat!"

"Tenshi, can you help me make dinner?" She froze.

"I-um . . . Sorry, I can't cook," she grinned sheepishly behind her mask.

"You can't be that bad!"

"I burned chicken noodle soup."

"Never mind."

"This is really fun! It's been a while since I ate with this many people!" Tazuna exclaimed.

"Sorry, but that's one less person. I'm going to eat outside. It's gonna get messy in here." Tenshi tilted her head towards Naruto and Sasuke and left. She felt the cold night air and walked up the walls and onto the roof, balancing her food. Tenshi settled herself on the roof and removed her mask. She looked at the stars and slowly ate her food.

"Heh, this is the first time that I thought that I might fail my mission," Older Sakura whispered, pulling her knees to her chest, folding her arms and resting her head on them.

"Good morning . . . " Tenshi stifled a yawn, entering the room.

"I don't know about that, maybe the idiot really is dead." Older Sakura put her hands on her hips.

"Psh, fine! Ignore me! Continue with your conversation! See if I care!" She nagged.

"Sasuke-kun?"

"I'm going for a walk."

"But we're going to eat. That was fast . . . "

"Geez guys, I didn't mean literally!"

"I wonder where Sasuke is going." Tenshi huffed and grabbed her fish walking outside.

"Well I feel appreciated . . . " She drawled sarcastically. "I gotta stock up on my medicine anyways, don't mind me . . ."

"What's so funny?" Naruto's voice was clear as a bell. Older Sakura put the last of the herbs in her bag and walked to a tree, hand to its bark.

"Do you have someone who is important to you?"

'Haku!' Sakura saw the familiar face and instinctively reached for a kunai. 'Wait! No, bad Sakura, no killing the person you're trying to save!'

"Important? What are you getting at?"

" . . . A person is able to become truly strong when they wish to protect someone they cherish." Haku explained knowingly.

"Yeah, I understand that." Sakura's eyes softened.

'So that's where he got it . . . '

"You will become strong."

"Yep!"

"Let's meet again somewhere. Oh, and I'm a boy." Naruto did a double-take and Sakura put her hand to her mouth.

"Why? What an amazing thing . . . This world is engulfed with mysteries."

'Heh . . . no kidding'

"Ouch! What are you doing?" Sakura snapped out of her reverie and watched Sasuke and Naruto talk.

"Way to go Sasuke-kun! You amaze me!"

"Huh? What'd I miss?" Older Sakura asked drowsily.

"They're late. I understand why Naruto's late, but Sasuke-kun?" The door opened, Naruto's arm was slung over Sasuke's shoulders.

"What's with you two, you look really dirty and tired."

"We both climbed to the top."

"Okay, Naruto, Sasuke, you two guard Mr. Tazuna next time, as well," Kakashi said. Naruto cheered, sending both genin to the floor. Everybody laughed.

"Hey, Inari? Is something wrong?" Sakura asked when the boy became quiet.

"I think he's having a flashback montage . . . " Tenshi shrugged. And then Inari stood up and screamed his speech about strong vs. weak and how the strong people always win . . . Geez! Sasuke-ish much? And then Naruto went and did his speech about crybabies and walked away. Tenshi looked at both before going to bed.

"See ya guys in the morning."

"Please look after Naruto. He used his body to the max so I don't think he'll be able to move for today," Kakashi told Tsunami.

"Maybe, but remember, this is Naruto we're talking about," Older Sakura added.

And with that, Tenshi, Sasuke, Sakura, Kakashi and Tazuna headed off.

Hey, I just noticed this was a montage!

"What is this!" Tazuna shouted. His workers were sprawled out on the floor, obviously in pain. Tenshi headed to a few of them, diagnosing their conditions.

"What's wrong? What happened?"

"They've been attacked, but none of them will die," She announced, "It seems that-"

Fog covered the area.

"-Zabuza . . . "

"Sasuke! Sakura! He's coming!" The genin reached for their kunai and stood with the bridge builder.

"Sorry to keep you waiting Kakashi. And you're still carrying those kids. He's shaking again, how pitiful," Zabuza's voice seemed to reverberate off every particle of the misty shroud.

Then water clones appeared around them.

Sasuke grinned. Wait, no, my bad. Uchihas don't grin; they smirk.

"I'm shaking with excitement."

"Go for it Sasuke," Kakashi half-smiled under his mask. One water clone lunged for Sasuke, and in a few moments, water drenched the area.

'I totally could've done better.' Tenshi thought. Zabuza seemed amused.

"He can defeat the water clones. That kid got stronger. A rival has appeared for you, Haku." Said ninja nodded.

"It seems like it."

"Geez, and what am I? A piece of sliced ham? Hm, I have a sudden craving for ham now . . . But that'd be kinda weird if I'm eating myself . . . " They all spared Tenshi a glance before ignoring her again.

_"Well I feel appreciated."_

_**Hey, it's Rin! Thanks so much to everyone who's favorited this story and review. I really appreciate it because it encourages me to write and helps break down that annoying thing called Writers Block. So, I'm here to say that I've written several chapters of this story already, so I'll update quickly the first few chapters, but after that, I'm going to be a wee bit slow. Because to get the quotes and research what happened . . . -sigh-**_

**_LowBatteryLife - Uhh, depends on what you mean by rewriting, if you mean using every single word from every single episode . . . no. This is basically an abridged version of Naruto with another Sakura._**

**_xXxFallenSakuraxXx - Thanks, it's nice to know there are people who don't flame a lot and can keep it short and sweet._**

**_I like reviews and appreciate (that's my word for this chapter, appreciate) constructive critism. Not too harsh though please!_**

**_Over and Out, _**

**_Mistress of Murder Rin-sama_**


	4. Forehead Protector

Chapter 4

(13-19)

"Inari! Help me out!" Tsunami called to her son.

"Coming!"

"Kuso! I'm totally late!" Naruto leapt through the trees as fast as he could. No way he was going to miss all the fun!

"Oh my . . . My prediction was right," Kakashi chimed.

"Your prediction?"

"The masked guy." Sakura seemed surprised.

"Just as I thought too," Sasuke's mouth was in a thin line.

"I feel sooo loved right now," Tenshi drawled sarcastically, twirling a kunai around her finger. The kunai whirled until it flew off her finger and towards Haku and Zabuza. She disappeared from her place next to Kakashi and into the air. Tenshi pulled out another kunai and threw it at the first one. A metallic clink sounded as the two collided and they both flew at the Mist ninja.

"Attack!" Kakashi commanded, tossing some shuriken at the Mist shinobi, they dodged. "I'll take the masked boy," Sasuke even stakes claims on his opponents, conceited much? Haku created a whirlwind with his body, heading towards Sasuke. The Uchiha smirked and drew kunai.

_chink!_

Kunai to senbon.

Tenshi turned her attention from Sasuke and Haku to Zabuza, she settled into an offense stance. She could hear the footsteps on the water and metal against metal.

"Don't underestimate my team just because there're children. They are more talented and determined than you can imagine," Kakashi's voice contained no trace of bragging, but you could tell he was proud.

Weird laughing.

"Haku, do you understand that you're going to get defeated like this?"

"Yes," Haku answered calmly, chakra flaring.

"What's that . . . ?" Sasuke's voice contained only traces of fear.

"It's a shame."

"That's . . . cold air."

"No shit Sherlock," Tenshi murmured. Haku made a hand seal and the crystal ice mirrors started to form. The creating of the mirrors sounded more like the breaking of mirrors than anything.

"Demonic Ice Crystal Mirrors," The masked boy's voice sounded regretful.

'He doesn't want to do this . . . ' Tenshi pushed away the sympathy. Haku activated the technique, the mirrors giving off a subtle glow before fading. He stepped into a mirror, his image materializing. Kakashi cursed under his breath and ran towards Sasuke, Zabuza appeared in front of him.

"I'm your opponent, remember? He's a goner now that Haku has used that technique."

The onslaught of senbon began, drawing cries of pain from the icy prison.

"Sasuke!" Kakashi called. Tenshi came up beside him, calmly. But then again, she already went through this. The Jonin wondered if she knew whether or not the Uchiha would survive. A needle hit Sasuke's hand, his kunai flying and landing at younger Sakura's feet.

"If you move without thinking, I'll kill the two behind you," Zabuza half-warned half-threatened. Sakura's fist tightened, she asked permission from Tazuna if she could help, even if only a little. Tazuna saw the determination in her eyes and nodded. She took Sasuke's kunai and threw it at the frozen imprisonment. Haku caught it and Sasuke collapsed. A flash of black shuriken appeared and hit Haku, sending him from his mirror to the ground.

There was an explosion

**"Hehe . . . Explosions . . ."** Inner Sakura half-giggled. Outer smirked under her mask.

"Naruto . . . "

"Uzumaki Naruto is here!" The smoke cleared. "Now that I'm here, everything is going to be just fine! The main character usually appears like this and defeats the enemy at the very last moment!"

"Hmph, it's that kid."

"Yosh! Let's do this! Kage bushin no-" Zabuza threw shuriken at the orange-clad ninja.

"Oh no! Dodge it, Naruto!"

Closer.

Closer.

_Closer._

Haku threw senbon at the shuriken at the last minute and everyone gasped.

Kakashi gave Naruto his lesson on how you shouldn't just announce to the enemy that you've arrived.

Haku called dibs on fighting Naruto.

Tenshi yawned and complained about there being more talking than fighting.

"Kakashi-sensei, what do you want me to do?" Tenshi looked to the Jonin for instruction.

"Go help Sasuke and Naruto, they can't handle that masked boy on their own."

Tenshi ran to Naruto' side just as Haku stepped into the mirror. She grabbed the orange ninja's hand.  
"C'mon Naruto! Don't just stand there gawking!" When she tried to pull him forward, he stood there, rooted to the spot. "Fine, I'll just have to wait until you've snapped back to reality."

Tenshi took two steps back and drew back her chakra infused fists. She mentally measured the trajectory and angle of her punch and how the mirrors would react.

"Take this! SHANNARO!" Tenshi swung at the ice mirror. Sasuke was just hit by the senbon and fell to the ground, moving him out of the way of the frozen projectile flipping and flying through the air. It rebounded off another mirror, the second one doing the same. Gradually, most of the mirrors were destroyed.

"Naruto! Get Sasuke outta there!" Tenshi turned back, one eye on Haku, and shouted at Naruto.

"R-right! I'm on it! Believe it!" Sasuke refused help from Naruto and tried to melt the remaining ice mirrors.

"Leave it Sasuke! It won't melt, you'll just be wasting your chakra!" Older Sakura tried to warn him. Too late for that though. The fireball escaped the icy prison through cracks, but ultimately failed in melting the mirrors.

"How's he doing all this?" Haku managed to continue his attack with the remaining mirrors (Sakura was only able to get rid of about half with that single punch.)

"It's a kekki genkai, even if Sasuke were to activate his Sharingan, he wouldn't be able to copy this technique. If you don't get out of there, you could die," Tenshi explained.

"I can't die here . . . I still have a dream I need to achieve!"

_'Dream?'_ Haku had his flashback.

"It was difficult for me to follow the path of the shinobi. If it's possible, I don't want to kill you and I don't want to make you kill me," Haku spoke softly, "However, if you are going to fight me, I will kill my compassion with a blade and become a ninja. This bridge is a battleground that leads to the dreams of many people. I will fight for my dream. And you will fight for your dream. Please do not hold any grudges. I want to protect an important person. I want to work for him, fight for him, and make his dreams come true. I will kill you!"

"And we wouldn't want it any other way," Tenshi came smashing through the roof of the icy prison.

"Tenshi!" Said Chunin tightened her glove and helped the other two to their feet. The mirrors were destroyed, thanks to the pinkette. The girl felt a spike in Zabuza's chakra.

"We have to defeat this guy fast and get back to Kakashi and Sakura."

The three Leaf ninja faced off against the single Mist ninja.

'I can't use my super strength on the ground without damaging the bridge, and since we're pretty far out, I'm not sure whether or not it'll hold up. But maybe if I . . . ' Sakura drew her fans and Haku did the same with his senbon.

"Take this!" Chakra enveloped her fans with deadly speed and she poised them in a threatening arrangement. Tenshi slid her foot forward and whipped out her arms. The chakra scalpel went from her hands, through her fan and into the air, spiraling like shuriken. The crescent-shaped attack sliced through the air. She repeated the process, the masked boy dodging every attack. Tenshi closed her fans and stood up straight.

_'I wonder who's faster, Haku or Sasuke from my time.'_ Sakura thought, marveling at Haku's speed.

"Well, it seems my chakra scythes won't work against you anymore, since you can come up with a counter for every attack you see, even if it's just one time," Tenshi bit down on her gloved thumb. Haku let out a cry of distress.

"What is it?" Naruto asked, not sure why the enemy seemed hurt.

"Just a last minute trick I executed," Tenshi answered, "The original chakra scythes are crescent shaped. That last one I shaped a little bit differently, into a boomerang shape. So I tossed it, and came right back."

Haku held up his hand, which flopped around like deadweight.

"What did you do?"

"I severed his hand tissues, he can't use it until the tissues heal together," Sakura answered, putting her fans away.

"But he can use one-handed seals . . . " Sasuke pointed out.

"I know, but he won't fall for that attack again," The pinkette said regrettably. Haku made his one-handed seals to remake the ice mirrors. "Kuso . . . "

Haku was careful this time, he made sure Tenshi was trapped on the inside with Sasuke and Naruto on the outside.

"Tenshi!"

"Naruto! Sasuke!"

The mirrors closed, so there were no cracks. No one could get out, or get in.

_'Oh crap.'_

The needle barrage started.

Sakura didn't have the kind of speed that Haku did, and she knew if she tried to force her way out, Haku would immobilize her.

If she took all the attacks, she would eventually end up like Sasuke just like last time.

If she deflected all the senbon, and hope that Haku would eventually run out, it would take too long and Zabuza would die.

So what if . . .

"Okay, I give up. I won't fight you," Tenshi bowed her head.

"Nani! Tenshi! What are you doing! You can't just give up!" Naruto called, banging against the mirrors. Older Sakura ignored him and walked towards the nearest mirror.

"I promise I will make no move to hurt you if you do the same for me," she bargained. Haku nodded and opened a path for her. She took a step when Sasuke came running in.

"Sasuke! What are you doing in here!" Tenshi whipped around to face him.

"We were trying to ram the mirror down," he answered curtly, glaring at Haku.

"Well c'mon, we have to get out of here!" She urged him out. When Tenshi stepped out of the barrier, the opening snapped shut.

_With Sasuke still inside._

"Sasuke!" Naruto yelled, seeing what had happened. He punched at the wall.

"Let Sasuke out!" Tenshi demanded. Haku materialized in front of her.

"I can't, I've never used this technique for so long before, and it requires precise chakra control. My chakra is going wild and I can't take hold of it anymore. I can't stop the attack!" He disappeared for a while.

"What's happening! Sasuke!" The familiar look of panic crossed Naruto's face. "Can't you stop him Tenshi!" Older Sakura fell to her knees and bit her lip.

"I can't. If I break in like I did last time, I could hurt, even kill, Sasuke with the mirror. I can't see what's going on, there's no guarantee that I won't hit him." Haku came back.

"I can't control anything! Not even my body!" He managed to say before disappearing again. Tenshi frantically went through her options.

If she attacked a mirror head-on, it could hurt or - she didn't want to think past the 'or'.

If she broke the ground underneath the mirrors, it would definitely mean more work for bridge-builders, but Sasuke could crawl out. . . Or the mirrors would drop to block off that path.

Or maybe if she attacked the edge where the two mirrors met . . . yes, if she did that, the mirrors wouldn't hit Sasuke . . .

But for all she knew, Sasuke was right there and could end up receiving a punch himself.

Well . . . What if she pried off the top mirror and dropped in?

"Naruto! I have an idea! Walk up the mirrors to the top!" Sakura instructed, already on her way up.

"What's the plan?"

"Get out a kunai-knife and help me pry off this mirror," She said, reaching into her weapon holster.

Tenshi used chakra to help her stick to the slippery slope of the imprisonment. Sasuke's cries to pain were almost too loud for her to bear. The top mirror slowly lifted up, Tenshi's strength was barely able to hold it up.

"Naruto, I won't be able to get in, you'll have to go in and save Sasuke," Sakura groaned under the pressure the mirror exerted on her. Naruto looked at her and slid in, just barely able to squeeze in when Tenshi's strength gave way.

"Kuso, I'm not sure if they'll survive this time, especially since Haku's gone out of control . . . " she cursed. "Should've thought this through . . . " She could already hear the pain of the boys in the chamber, but she wasn't able to determine who was making them. She set back to trying to pry the top mirror open.

'Well, they're sealed with chakra, so if I could cut it . . . ' Tenshi reasoned, forming chakra scalpels around her hands. She traced the edges of the top mirror with her fingertips and tore the mirror off and threw it into the ocean. Sakura jumped in and deflected Haku's incoming senbon with her own.

"Sasuke! Naruto!" She called, the room was filled with thick fog that you couldn't see squat in.

"Sakura? Is that you!" Naruto's voice. He sounds so weak.

_(Don't panic, stay cool…)_

"Ye – It's Tenshi!" She raced towards the origin of the sound and faintly saw Sasuke lying on the floor, blood on the corner of his mouth. Needles, more than last time, were stuck in his body. Tenshi was too scared to look to see if they had struck vital points. She held her gaze at his hand.

_(N-no…)_

"Sasuke?" Naruto's eyes were watering.

_(No, it's just like last time, he fine…he's fine…right?)_

"He's…" Sakura's heart as in her throat.

_(He's fine, he's fine, he's completely fine…)_

Each time she chanted that in her head, hope dimmed.

Naruto involuntarily transformed into his Kyuubi state, the chakra of the Bjuu was overwhelming. Terror sent shivers up Tenshi's spine.

But she didn't move, she was frozen.

_(He's not dead…)_

Tenshi tore her eyes away from Sasuke's body and watched Naruto and Haku face off. She had to save Haku and Zabuza first. Before she could save Sasuke. The pinkette took a deep breath and a shaky step forward. And another. And another. She swallowed and burst off towards Zabuza and Kakashi's battlegrounds. Haku had just flickered in front of Zabuza, seems he was back in control of his body.

Tenshi pushed him backwards, into Zabuza and extended one of her legs to push Kakashi's hand (the one with Lightning Blade) upwards. She was standing sideways with her right leg on the ground, breathing heavily, and her heart was pounding in her ears.

"Stop…"

Tenshi stood upright and everyone looked at her.

"We don't have to fight anymore."

Kakashi and Zabuza were still on guard, they didn't trust her.

"Look."

She pointed towards Gatou. The short man clapped mockingly.

"Ooh…you were getting your ass kicked before the girl showed up. How disappointing. I wasted my money on you?"

The same gang of men stood behind Gatou.

"Hehehe…the plan has changed…well actually, I planned to do this from the beginning."

He continued to discuss his plan. Tenshi's younger self was rushing towards Sasuke's body.

(Please don't be dead…please…)

She could hear her crying.

The ninja now stood together. They didn't have a reason to fight each other and now had a common enemy.

Gatou.

"Let's kill him." Zabuza hoisted his sword up onto his shoulder with his good arm.

"It's YOUR fault Sasuke's dead!" Naruto's red aura started leaking out. Tenshi put a hand on his shoulder. He made dozens of shadow clones. Kakashi's eyes seemed hurt at Naruto's words.

_'Sasuke's dead?_' they appeared to say. Tenshi took out one fan and stood at the ready.

"Let's do this." Her words seemed to trigger them.

Zabuza, Naruto, Kakashi, Haku and herself launched off their starting point and into the mob of thugs. The older shinobi took them out, one by one. The younger spared them.

Tenshi paralyzed most of them, twisting and turning through the crowd, dancing and weaving around weapons and fists. She felt like Sasori was trying to pelt her with his poison senbon again. But this time she didn't need Chiyo's help, it was as if donning the ANBU-like mask gave her ANBU-like abilities. Tenshi felt so free, light as a feather, graceful as a doe. Before she knew it, Zabuza was pushing Gatou off the edge of the unfinished bridge. But of course, like the first time, he was slowly dying of wounds he had sustained in his mad dash, the desperation to kill Gatou.

Tenshi quickly took him aside and started carefully removing the spears and swords from his body. As soon as she pulled one out, she would hold her hand to the injury and started healing.

After about 45 seconds of healing, Zabuza looked just about ready to jump into another fight. Tenshi let out a sigh of relief.

"Hey! You guys are too relaxed! We're still here!" He, who looked like the leader of the group of ruffians called, ruined her happy moment.

"Damn ninjas! You killed our paycheck! So we're gonna have to ransack your precious, little town and steal anything of value!" A chorus of 'yeah's arose from the crowd behind him.

"This is bad…" Kakashi said, trying to stand.

"Can't you just defeat them? Can you use some awesome jutsu to take them all out?" Naruto asked no one in particular.

Kakashi was out of chakra.

Zabuza was still recovering from his injury (he was a little stiff).

Tenshi was tending to Haku's wounds.

Naruto was panicking.

Sasuke was _(please don't be)_ dead.

Sakura was crying.

And only one thing was going through Tenshi's head.

_(Shit, we're screwed. Where's Inari when you need him?)_

As if on cue, Inari's arrow shot out and dug itself into the ground before the gang of criminal low-lifes.

"A hero always shows up at the last second, right?" One too many Narutos…

Kakashi and Naruto summoned up enough chakra to create some bunshins.

Now the mob of thugs weren't so confident.

NOT SO TOUGH NOW ARE YA!

They all jumped off the bridge.

And man, did Tenshi laugh.

Then all of sudden, it struck her.

_(Sasuke's dead…maybe for real this time)_

She shook, trembled, shivered, and ran to the young Uchiha.

_(Please…no…whoever's up there, please help me, p…l…e…a…s…e…)_

Tenshi wished her younger self would stop crying. She would stand up and yell to Naruto that Sasuke was all right. That he was still alive.

Walking- running- full out sprinting to him on wobbly legs wasn't reassuring. Instead of a graceful doe, now the medic felt like a newborn fawn. It was like the day she had seen Sasuke after two years, she had to fight him, bring him back…

_(Damn it, Sasuke! Why can't you make anything easy!)_

'Because you have to work for the good things in life' Kakashi would say.

'Because he's being stubborn' Naruto would say.

'Because he's playing hard to get' Sai would say.

Older Sakura almost wished she was back in her own time, not messing with the time stream.

She collapsed next to her younger self. She felt for a pulse, listen for his breathing, his heart…nothing…

_(My hands are trembling, that's why I don't feel a pulse)_

Tenshi told herself. Inner Sakura was quiet.

_(My heart is beating too loudly, that's why I can't hear his…)_

She didn't believe herself.

_(Younger me is crying too hard, that's why I can't hear him breath)_

Gosh, he was dead.

* * *

It took a long time to pull Sakura away from Sasuke.

It took even longer to snap Tenshi out of her trance.

It took almost no time to get Naruto to admit he missed Sasuke.

_(I can't believe it)_

Tenshi lay on Tazuna's roof, staring at the stars.

_(I go back in time to save him from the darkness and evil of the world)_

She heard Naruto, Kakashi and Sakura join her.

_(But I couldn't save him from death)_

Sakura hiccupped, pulled her knees to her chest and started crying.

_(I'm a medic; I'm supposed to be saving lives)_

Naruto comforted the crying girl, and for once, she didn't threaten him.

_(I'm still a failure…even…even now)_

Kakashi stared up at the stars and the moon. It started raining.

Tenshi stood up.

They still hadn't buried him. They didn't talk about him. His body was lying in his bed. As if he were asleep, not dead. No one wanted to admit to it…

"He was too young to die." The bridge was almost finished.

"He knew he was giving his life away when he became a ninja." They had to leave soon.

"They conned us out of our lives, our freedom. Bribed us with praises, dreams of being the best, the chance to be immortalized in stones and myths, like shinobi before us. He fell for it. We all fell for it," Tenshi dare not say his name. Saying his name is like admitting he's dead. That he won't come back this time. Her rain-soaked hair clung to her mask.

"We're going to end up like him sometime too, aren't we?" Naruto's eyes brought Tenshi to tears.

He was cold.

_(Colder than when he was alive. I didn't even know that was possible)_

He was pale.

_(Paler everyday, he couldn't get a tan)_

He was dead.

_(Wake up. Tell me Naruto planted a sick joke.)_

Tenshi took his headband. Held it in her hand. Wanting him to snatch it out of her grasp and take it back.

'That's _mine' _he would say.

"Tenshi! Dinner's ready!" Tsunami reminded the pinkette of her own mother.

She had healed his wounds, took out the senbon needles. Tenshi didn't dare look to see if the thin pieces of metal had hit vital points. She was too emotionally unstable.

Tenshi nodded to the others (Zabuza and Haku were staying for dinner, then leaving. The real ANBU would find them sooner or later), took her bowl and started for the door. It was still wet outside. From the rain yesterday.

_(Heaven was crying too)_

"Where the hell is my forehead protector?" Everyone froze. No one had the guts to turn around. Kakashi was tempted to check and see if it was a genjutsu. Tenshi tightened her grip on Sasuke's headband.

"Tenshi, give it too me!" She smiled behind her mask.

"SASUKE-KUN!" Sakura pretty much glomped the raven-haired boy. The tears spilling out of her eyes were unmistakably happy. "You're alive!"

"Why would I be dead? Now get OFF me!" Someone didn't get enough beauty sleep and freakin' KILLED his teammates with worry and despair! Tenshi didn't care though.

Gosh, he was alive.


	5. Chunin Exams and the Unknown

**Hey, first things first. The chapters will be coming out slower now . . . or maybe at the same rate with summer coming up and all. Thanks to everyone who's reviewed or will review. I really appreciate it. Okay, now, I want your opinion.**

**Who should Tenshi reveal herself to first? Sakura or Naruto?**

**Should I make this into a SasuSaku fic? Keep it non-romance?**

**Which type of elemental chakra should Tenshi have?**

**Last thing before disclaimer . . . **

**If you notice anything wrong, or you want something changed in whatever, let me know! I want you guys to like this fic and I'm open to ideas. I'm gonna try to keep this timetravel fic going since so little others do. So just bear with me, please!**

**Disclaimer: I is no own Naruto or Yu-Gi-Oh The Abridged Series. Masashi Kishimoto and LittleKuriboh do. Unfortunately, I only own half of this plotline. Not even the whole plot line since part of it is following Kishimoto's. -sigh- I am so sad.**

Chapter 5

(20-25)

Heartfelt good-byes were exchanged as were farewell tears. The bridge was named as it was before, The Great Naruto Bridge.

Walking along it was nostalgic, and, well, Tenshi realized, this whole mission was. Almost quite literally a 'walk down memory lane'. Walking through the past . . . yes, a story to tell to the grandkids.

"Good morning, Sakura-chan!" Naruto said cheerily, running towards her on the tori bridge. Then he glared at Sasuke, despite his relief at him being alive. Sasuke, of course, returned the glare, an ugly grimace on his face. Almost as if it had been choreographed, they looked away at the same time.

"Ne, ne, Sasu-chan! Scowling all the time makes you look ugly! If you smile more, you won't get as much wrinkle lines!" Tenshi chirped, hanging upside down from the tori gate with her chakra concentrated at her feet.

"What are you doing anyways?" Naruto asked, eyes closed. Tenshi patted her stomach.

"A variation of sit ups, working the core muscles."

"I spy, with my little eye . . . something that is big . . . and rocky . . . "

"The Hokage Cliffs. Again." Sakura sighed, bored with Tenshi's games.

"Geez, you guys are—"

"Hello everybody, good morning!" Kakashi appeared right next to Tenshi's still upside down body. "Ne, Tenshi, isn't all the blood rushing to your head?"

"Nope!" She dropped down, then staggered a bit, "Ah, nevermind . . . "

"YOU'RE LATE!" Naruto and Sakura yelled.

"No need to scream so loud, yeesh . . . " Tenshi complained, holding her head.

Naruto then asked Kakashi for a harder mission, randomly spun around and held his hands up in attack mode towards Sasuke. The older girl cocked her head to the side, rather confused.

"I want to say something like that!" Naruto suddenly yelled to the sky.

"Kaka-sensei? I think Naruto-kun's talking to himself again!" Tenshi said as if she were tattle-telling on him.

Tenshi and Kakashi watched Naruto continually try to best Sasuke all day. The older girl sometimes pulled Naruto aside to help him not mess up as much.

"_See these plants? These are rare herbs. And this here, these are weeds."_

"_Use some chakra to help keep your grip on the slippery rocks. The soles of ninja sandals aren't as good as you think."_

"_Avoid large dogs at all costs. And explosions."_

Of course in the end, the team was dysfunctional. Sasuke and Naruto still fought. The Uchiha still even challenged Naruto to become stronger.

"If you still don't want to owe me anything . . . Become stronger than me."

And then the following date offers from her younger self, in which Tenshi realized, when you're a ninja, asking to train is asking to go on a date.

As she was leaving to go train, Tenshi wondered if that would mean going out with herself. She shook her head and ran there as fast as she could.

Tenshi suddenly looked up, her porcelain mask off, as she was sweating.

"My Gaara senses are tingling," She muttered to herself, replacing her mask and teleporting back to her original location

"Konohamaru!" Naruto exclaimed, worried.

"That hurt you brat," Kankuro said, holding the boy up by the collar of his shirt, flowing blue scarf hanging off his shoulder.

"Stop it, we're going to get scolded later," Tenshi heard Temari say, although she was focused on the Academy boy. The pinkette stood a little ways off, not in sight, but not suspicious. She pushed her chakra level down, condensing it within her body, hiding her chakra.

"Sorry, I was just joking around so . . . " The younger girl looked really embarrassed and uneasy.

"Hey! Let go of him!" Naruto yelled, regaining his spunk.

"But I want to play some games before some noisy people come," The Sand boy objected. Tenshi started towards them, quietly and undetected.

"Let go!" Konohamaru started kicking at the bully.

"You're really annoying, kid." He continued to tighten his grip. Naruto trembled with anxiety and ran towards them. Kankuro's fingers moved in a fashion so Tenshi knew his chakra strings were now a variable. Naruto fell backwards ungracefully. Then Tenshi jumped atop the wooden fencing, balancing perfectly.

"Konoha's genin are weak."

She made it so she was looking the situation head on, but the genin were too focused on each other to notice her.

Finally, the Tiny Pebble of Doom hit Kankuro on the hand, releasing Konohamaru.

"Ouch, that barely hurt!" (Taahaa~! Yu-Gi-Oh Abridged Series reference!) Kankuro said, surprised at Sasuke's odd choice in weapon.

"What do you think you're doing in our village?" Sasuke asked, tossing his next Tiny Pebble of Doom only somewhat threateningly up in the air. Younger Sakura had a momentary fangirl moment.

Kankuro muttered to himself as Sasuke crushed the Tiny Pebble of Doom in his hands.

"Get lost."

"Hey! That's cheating! You used chakra to crush that Tiny Peb—I mean, you used chakra to crush that pebble!" Tenshi called. Naruto jumped.

"How long have you been standing there?" He asked, scratching the crown of his head.

"Ever since 'Konoha's genin are weak.'" She replied, deepening her voice to imitate Kankuro's.

"Well like it's not true . . . " Kankuro replied, shaken at the appearance of who he thought was part of the ANBU Black Ops.

"That explains why one of them defeated you with a Tiny Pebble of—Gah, I mean small rock!" Tenshi shot back, a little bit miffed. The puppet master turned back to Sasuke.

"Come down here. I hate kids who think they're so cool." He loosened the bandage around his shoulder and brought Karasu down in front of him. The bandages danced in the air around the Sand shinobi, as if possessed.

"Kankuro, stop." Gaara said, appearing.

"You treat the guy like a dog," Tenshi's mouth twitched. Everyone was surprised that they didn't sense Gaara, although they didn't show much surprise when they found out Tenshi was there the whole time.

"You're a disgrace to our village."

"G-Gaara . . . " Kankuro laughed sheepishly. Sasuke remained on the branch, thinking to himself.

"A week from now, Chunin Exams, prepare your teams. Dismissed."

"That's all Hokage-sama called us in here for? I expected it would be more dramatic, after all, he is old and stuff."

"What does age have to do with anything?"

"It doesn't."

"Ah."

Kakashi, Kurenai and Asuma proceeded to nominate their teams for the chunin exams, respectively.

"Hold on a second!"

"What is it Iruka?" The Sandaime asked patiently.

"Hokage-sama, please let me have a word! I may be speaking out of place, but most of these nine were students of mine at the Academy. Of course they are all very talented, but it's too early to take the exam. They need more experience."

"I became a chunin when I was 6 years younger than Naruto." Kakashi stated.

"Naruto is different from you!" Iruka insisted, rather frustrated. "Are you trying to crush these kids! The Chunin Exam is . . . !"

"They're always complaining about the missions. Experiencing some pain may be good for them . . . Crushing them could be fun . . . " Kakashi said aloud, coming off as a sick sadist. But only a little bit.

And well, we all know that from here on out, Kakashi and Iruka continue to bicker like an old married couple. And sorry, no yaoi here. Bwahahaha, I am breaking the fourth wall(Yu-Gi-Oh Abridged Series reference!).

"Losing yourself in a fight, how pathetic . . . Why do you think we came to the Leaf Village?"

"Listen Gaara, they started it and—" Kankuro began to protest.

"Shut. Up. I'll kill you." Gaara threatened, still maintaining a cool demeanor.

"O-Ok, I'm sorry . . . " The black-clad ninja apologized.

"I'm also sorry, really sorry," Temari said nervously.

Gaara turned to Sasuke.

"Sorry to you guys," He said politely, although he was sizing Sasuke up and vise versa. Gaara 'teleported' to the ground and Tenshi stared all the Sand ninja down.

"You're early."

"We know, let's go." Gaara didn't even look at her.

"Hey! Wait!" Sakura called.

"What?" The sand ninja turned.

"Judging from your forehead protectors, you guys are ninjas from the Hidden Sand, right?" she asked, trying not to betray fear in her voice. "You may be allies with the Leaf Village but it is forbidden for shinobi to enter each other's villages without permission. State your purpose. Depending on it, we may not be able to let you go." Sakura herself knew that no matter how good they were, Team 7 could not defeat these Sand ninja. But Tenshi would back them up, right?

"Hah, talk about clueless," Temari said confidently, holding up her pass. "Don't you know anything? You're right, we are genin from the Hidden Sand. We have come to your village to take the Chunin Exam."  
"Chunin Exam?" Naruto asked, confused. Tenshi leapt down next to him.

"You basically get promoted to chunin, you get harder missions, and you become more skilled. But you have to pass three specially designed tests. Very difficult. It took me two tries to pass. Barely survived both times," Tenshi warned. The blonde shivered.

"Ugh, foreshadowing . . . "

"Hey you, what's your name!" Sasuke said, jumping down in front of Sakura.

"H-huh? You mean me?" Temari stuttered, blushing wildly.

"No. You with the gourd," he replied rudely, traces of annoyance clear.

"Gaara of the Desert . . . I'm also interested in you, your name?"

"Che, gay much?" Tenshi muttered under her breath, amused at Gaara's odd wording. Then she caught herself. "No offense to anyone," the rosette added.

The two stoic genin stared—glared—at each other, intense and serious.

"Hey! What about me! Huh!" Naruto interrupted, jabbing a thumb in his own direction, hoping to be recognized by the strange boy with the gourd on his back.

"Not interested. Let's go." Gaara turned away to leave.

"It's ok Naruto, rejection hurts at first, but you get over it," Tenshi patted him on the shoulder sympathetically.

"You speak from experience," Sakura observed, trying to get an underlying barb in.

"Yes," Tenshi answered simply, stopping herself from sliding her eyes over to Sasuke.

"**How ironic that my younger self would end up hating me?" **Inner Sakura grumbled.

Kakashi, late again, presented his team with Chunin Exam applications. Naruto glomped him, screaming things that sounded pretty gay (Please don't hate me! I'm making a running joke for this chapter! I love gay people, but in a straight way . . . damn, not making this any better, am I? I'm just gonna stop.)

"KAKASHI SENSEI! I LOVE YOU!" Naruto screamed at the top of his lungs.

"That's nice, now let go . . . "

"Hey, where's Tenshi?" Sakura asked, searching for the other pink haired ninja. Kakashi looked up.

"Ah, she's technically not part of this team, so now need to worry about her."

"But . . . is she okay?"

"Yes, of course she is. Tenshi's just off doing something else." He cleared his throat. "Anyways, this is just a nomination, whether or not you want to take the exam is up to each of you. Those who wish to take it will sign those papers and turn them in at Room 301 by 4 PM tomorrow. That is all." He left suddenly.

Sakura gripped her paper.

'_Tenshi?'_

"AGH!" Tenshi punched the ground as hard as she could, mask off and her regular clothes on.

"Can't interfere with the exams. Gotta train. Gotta save them. But the curse mark . . . " Tenshi spoke softly to herself between breaths. She felt tears well up in her eyes. Irritated at . . . at how _weak _she was, she wiped at the tear angrily and knocked down a tree. Sakura took only a moment to feel sorry for the genin whose job or mission it was to repair the training grounds.

'_So, you've actually gotten stronger, Sakura?'_ Said girl snapped her head up.

"Sasuke . . . ?" She whispered, almost reverently.

'_You can knock down trees and break the very ground . . . but are you still useless?'_

Orochimaru's sinister voice filled her ears.

'_Wanna go out sometime, Sakura-chan?' _

Sakura's heart stopped.

"Naruto?" She asked, hoping for someone.

'_Tenshi.'_

'_Sakura.'_

'_Forehead.'_

'_Sakura-chan.'_

'_Annoying.'_

Voices of everyone she knew threw themselves at her violently.

"No! STOP IT!" She cried, covering her ears.

'_Weak.'_

'_Useless.'_

"Please!" The voices were in her mind.

'_I'll protect you until I die!'_

'_Sakura!'_

'_Thank you.'_

"KAI!" Tenshi screamed, a burst of chakra running through her. The genjutsu was dispelled, her heart pounded in her chest.

"Naruto . . . Lee . . . Kakashi . . . Tsunade . . . Ino . . Please wait for me to come back . . . "

Fear of being alone. Autophobia.

'_I don't want to be alone.'_

"Sakura."

Tenshi/Sakura turned around, shaking with fear.

A kunai caught the light as it shot from the darkness of the forest to the clearing that Sakura stood in. She threw her own kunai at it; the two knives collided, spinning in the air for a second. She then threw two more kunai at the original two, altering the originals' courses to the place where the first one came from. The two new kunai embedded themselves straight across from each other.

A black blur emerged from the forest, having dodged the weapons. Sakura took an involuntary step backwards as it came towards her. It threw another kunai at the rosette and she deflected it in the same way, the weapons landing in a perfect square. Tenshi ran around the 20-meter square, looping wire through the holes in the kunai. She stepped out of the square as the black blur, now still, but shadowy, stood in the middle, aware of the trap.

Tenshi formed a hand sign and opened her hands so that they faced the square outstretched.

"Wire Binding Jutsu!" Jade green chakra ran through the wires, shooting upwards at even intervals, bending into each other, forming a sort of cage. More 'chakra wires' shot out and wrapped themselves tightly around the wrists, legs and torso of the blur/shadow, which Tenshi found was solid.

It seemed to scream at the foreign chakra.

"WHO ARE YOU!" Sakura yelled, sweat forming at her brow and hands still outstretched.

'_Sa-ku-ra . . . '_ It spoke her name in a broken sort of way. Sakura dropped her hands as the shadow blurred even more. More and more, more until it was gone. She dropped to her knees.

"I know that voice." She whispered.

"I know that voice."

"I know that voice."

It became a chant.

"I know that voice."

And for the first time in a long time, Sakura curled up into a ball and just cried.

**Reviews not required but greatly appreciated!**


	6. Call it a Hunch

**It's been next to forever since I updated, huh? But I'm back and better than ever! Probably.**

**As for the chapter, shorter than usual, but my brain was running on empty, so you can hardly blame me.**

**Disclaimer: I. Do. Not. Own.**

Chapter 6

(no episode)

"Sakura, you seem a little shaken," Kakashi observed. Older Sakura and Kakashi were atop the Hokage Monument, discussing whatever topic came into their minds. Kakashi's orange book was mysteriously missing and Sakura was in her 'Tenshi outfit', although the mask was abandoned, laying on the Second's head.

"I-I believe that someone from my time has tracked me here, they intend to thwart my attempts at altering the time stream," She replied to his statement.

"Do you have any idea who it is?" The elder shinobi asked, maintaining his cool composure.

"I may, but . . . " She trailed off, her green eyes staring unseeingly off into the distance.

"But what?"

"I'm afraid of who it might be."

The time traveler sat in an open field, contemplating her mission. She pulled a daisy out of the meadow soil, twirling it around in her gloved fingers. It spun in a whirl of white and gray, the yellow center undulating. Sakura began to hum a random tune that didn't seem to have a steady tempo, fixed melody or the prowess to become an actual song.

"I wish I could at least dig deeper into my power," She told the white flower,"Whoever this enemy is, I'm sure it'll take more than what I have now to defeat them." A flash of the mysterious shadow flickered to life in her mind's eye, a blurry memory with a sort of whiteness to it.

Sakura recalled (or would it be seeing into the future, considering it hasn't happened yet?) Kakashi showing Naruto the method for discovering the elemental nature of one's chakra. A piece of paper held in hand, imbued with the shinobi's chakra.

Fire, it would burst into flames and burn.

Water, it would become soggy and wilt.

Wind, it would split clean down the middle.

Earth, it would transform into dirt and fall away.

Lightning, it would crinkle in but an instant.

Curious to see what would happen, Sakura concentrated her chakra into the flower.

It suddenly crumbled into earth right before her eyes.

"I see. Perhaps that's why I mastered obliterating the ground so easily." Sakura felt the breeze on her cheek. She leapt backwards, a part of her mind registering the fact that her new opponent obviously missed on purpose.

She replaced her mask, becoming 'Tenshi'.

"Who are you!" The ninja's voice rang loud and clear. Sakura did a quick survey, not seeing anything out of the ordinary except the kunai that nearly grazed her face. Tracking the angle and position of the weapon, Tenshi quickly calculated the approximate location of her adversary, most likely the shadow that attacked her before.

"Sa-ku-ra . . . "

"Stop playing and come out here! Fight like a man! . . . Or a woman . . . Depending!" Tenshi made a note to research on whether or not time travel caused a person to develop a fanfiction-like sense of humor.

But the presence faded away, leaving nothing but the kunai.

Sitting back down, Tenshi huffed.

"Not worth the fight, now am I?" she mumbled, pride a little bruised.

"Well, now that I know my elemental chakra, I suppose I should try to make some new jutsu based on it . . . "

Tenshi sat cross legged in the breezy meadow, brainstorming for some sort of original jutsu, so far with no luck.

"DAMN IT! HOW DO PEOPLE DO THIS!"

"And GO!" Her hands formed into claws and were thrust upwards towards the sky, mounds of earth rose along with the action, although not with the menacing power the creator had hoped for.

"Hmmm . . . Perhaps if I . . . ?"

"Oi! Tenshi-san!" A small civilian girl dressed in a dark blue kimono came running. "Hokage-sama requests your presence! Konoha is under attack!"

"What!"

_'Orochimaru isn't supposed to strike the Leaf Village until a month from now! What's going on!'_

"Quick, get on my back, hurry!" Tenshi loaded the girl onto her back and took off, hurrying back to the center of Konoha, intent on figuring out just what was going on.

"With the genin all taking the Chunin exams, he thought it'd be the ideal time to lay waste to Konoha. The genin 'army', if you will, is the largest fighting force, albeit, not the most powerful. But along with that, all of their jonin sensei and proctors would be there as well, leaving Konoha weak and defenseless! You have to hurry Sakura!" The girl explained. Tenshi came to a stand still and stood with the girl on her back on the rise of the torii bridge.

"Get down." She instructed, kneeling. As the little girl climbed off Tenshi's back, the older girl turned on her, holding a kunai to her throat.

"Reveal yourself, Sasuke-kun," Tenshi commanded. The girl looked frightened, waterworks falling down her cheeks.

"What are you . . . What are you implying Tenshi-san?"

"Don't shit around with me Sasuke-kun!" The face underneath the mask grew furious and dark, and her voice was tainted with hate, betrayal and determination.

"You were always the smart one, Sakura. Tell me, how did you know?" The transformation was overrun with Sasuke's overwhelming chakra capacity, his voice layered over the girl's.

"Call it a hunch, Sasuke-kun. A civilian girl shouldn't know so much about the ninja world, and she shouldn't know who I was, nor where to find me. And I suggest if you're going to pretend to be a little girl, you shouldn't use such high vocabulary. You never really were good at ACTING!" On the last word, Tenshi-Sakura cut at the air with one of her fans, a chakra blade being released from the weapon spiraled through the air, heading for the girl. But at the last moment, she went up in smoke.

"What!" Tenshi's fan burned in her hand, one of Sasuke's fire jutsus striking from behind. The fan dropped to the red-painted wood of the torii bridge, threatening to set the whole of it on fire. However, Tenshi kicked the fan through two of the rods supporting the railing, sending the charred weapon into the water. She reached for her other fan, only to find it not in its pouch.

"Looking for this?" Sasuke held her fan in his hand, crushing it so then it only hung by the pieces of paper attached to the wooden frame. He stood on the ground at the end of the bridge.

"Damn it," Tenshi cursed, flexing her hands.

Sasuke's Sharingan detected a spike in his former teammate's chakra.

"Don't bother, Sakura, I witnessed your latest attempt at that jutsu. It's not complete, and therefore, you cannot use it against me."

"Don't be so sure! Earth Pierce Jutsu!" With the same motion as before, Sakura summoned a prison of earth to surround Sasuke. The pointed spears of rock were positioned to pierce Sasuke's vital organs, a guaranteed and instant kill.

"I don't understand, you couldn't come close to completing the jutsu before, why now?" Sasuke's voice betrayed no hint of confusion, but he really didn't seem to know.

"Isn't it obvious? For as long as I can remember, names have had power. All humans have names, animals, plants . . . Names hold power. When I gave my Jutsu a name, it acquired the power to trap you like so."

"Do you intend to kill me?"

"Yes Sasuke-kun, I do," Tenshi-Sakura displayed a clawed hand. "All I have to do is close my hand, and you will be dead."

"Yes, you have the ability to kill me. All living creatures have the ability to kill. My question is, do you have the will to kill me, Sakura?"

"I don't know. Let's find out."

* * *

**And that, ladies and gentlemen, is my failed attempt at a cliff hanger. Hope you like it so far though, I'll keep my fingers crossed. Hypothetically of course.**

**Over and Out**

**Mistress of Murder, Rin-sama**


	7. The Innerworkings of Timetravel

**Hey, for those who were wondering, I didn't get sucked into a black hole. I was having plot issues, and I had the chapter half-written and stalled for time by updating other stuff. But, I'm really grateful to all the people who've read this. So here it is, Chapter 7 . So at this point, the we've skipped the Chunin Exams and the remaining genin are training. From now on I'm listing the (number-number) thing below the Chapter number by the manga chapters. I'm not sure what I've been doing lately, but in case you get confused . . . So yay! Enjoy! **

**Disclaimer: -Disclaimer goes here-**

Chapter 7

(89-92)

Deep breath.

This is what it all comes down to. Sakura could just kill him now. Couldn't she? Whether or not it was a blooming romance, a rekindled friendship, or Fate sticking her nose in where it wasn't wanted, Sakura hesitated for a moment.

Sasuke's image flickered the way an old television set does; static-y and disillusioning.

She wasn't quite sure what had happened, but for one second he was there, the next: gone. No plume of smoke or wink of light. He was simply there, then he wasn't

"I think I've figured it out," Sakura/Tenshi began, slapping a few pieces of lined paper on the rocky head of the Sandaime of the Hokage monument.

"Three days and you've already figured out the secret to timetravel. Impressive."

A sigh.

"Not really, Kakashi-sensei, it's more of an understanding of how it works. Ready for my spiel?"

"Speil away."

"Well, when I first cast the jutsu, there were swirls of chakra whipping around me. Like I was in the eye of a tornado. But faster. There is a theory that if something were to move faster than the speed of light, it could create a wormhole and timetravel would be possible.

Because I myself was in the sphere of the quicker-than-light chakra, I entered the wormhole. I'm also able to maintain the jutsu and stay in this time because my near-phenomenal chakra control redirects the flow of time, allowing it to wash over me. I suppose that's also why I've kept my original body instead of reverting back to my 12-year-old self. I'd figure if that were to happen, I'd forget my mission in the first place.

"And then of course there's the Sasuke from my time. More than likely he used his Sharingan to partially copy my technique, although it was too fast for him to copy it fully. So he can only come to this time period for minutes at a time. And even then he cannot fully recover his form."

Kakashi gave a low whistle.

"Well, that's the theory anyways." The girl sighed, scanning through her notes.

"The team gets back from the exams today." the silver-haired man said offhandedly.

" . . . "

"Hm?" He turned toward her.

"I missed the chance to stop Orochimaru from giving Sasuke the curse mark, didn't I?"

"Sorry." Kakashi offered.

"Why didn't you come get me?" Glumness hung over the monument, heavy in the air.

"I did. I knocked, but you didn't answer." Sakura fell backwards, staring at the sky.

"Priorities . . . Sasuke from my time . . . ? Sasuke from this time . . . ? Defeat the evil . . . ? Save the sinner . . . ? Priorities, priorities . . . "

Kakashi reached into his weapons pouch.

"Don't you dare get out that book."

And he relented.

"Can you tell me what happens in the future book?"

"Kakashi-sensei you pervert, I don't read those books." Sakura shot him an odd, sideways stare.

He only sighed.

"Hi Kakashi-sensei! Hi Tenshi-san!" Sakura had a happy smile.

"Did you pass the preliminary rounds?" Tenshi questioned casually, already knowing the answer.

"No, I tied with Ino-pig. We made up, but Naruto and Sasuke-kun made it through!"

"I see . . . "

"Tenshi-san?"

"Hm?"

"Where were you during the preliminaries?"

"I had some business to take care of. Where are the others?" The younger girl looked around.

"They seem to be talking to Kakashi-sensei," she gestured a little ways off, to where Naruto seemed to be dancing with rage. Sasuke hit Naruto in the head with a loose, half-hearted fist and accepted whatever Kakashi had proposed. Naruto ran over to Tenshi.

"Tenshi! Please take me on as your apprentice! Kakashi's already taken Sasuke and I don't want to train under Ebisu!" Naruto complained, pointing to his assigned 'sensei'.

"Sorry Naruto, I've decided to help train Sakura." The said girl seemed surprised, seeing it was the first she heard of this. Tenshi leaned in to whisper in the young boy's ear. "But stick around with him for a while. I'm sure a better teacher will come along!" She winked, momentarily forgetting she was wearing a mask.

Naruto, not really getting it but trusting his superior's judgement, sauntered off.

Sakura turned. "You're going to train me?" She asked in wonder. Tenshi put her hand on Sakura's head.

"You cut you hair! It looks nice, like mine!"

Sakura pouted and looked away.

"It wasn't meant to look like your hair. Sasuke-kun was in danger and I had to help. The enemy grabbed my hair. So I cut it."

"That's very noble of you," Tenshi said removing her hand.

"T-thank you . . . " Suspicion.

Tenshi tugged her new pupil along to start their training.

"Uh . . . Tenshi-san . . . ? Perhaps you should train Naruto. I didn't make it through so I-"

"No! You need to prepare for next time! So you can become a chunin!" Tenshi stopped. "I failed my Chunin Exams the first time around. Second time, I hardly escaped with my life. My sensei neglected to leave me with a teacher at this point, and I lost a lost of my talent as a ninja due to inactivity."

"I-I . . . " Sakura was at a loss for words.

"Sorry Sakura, I just needed to get that off my chest. Sorry." Tenshi offered a weak smile. Still gone unseen.

"Well, let's get going! Training, right?" Sakura pulled Tenshi towards the training grounds.

"Right."

Sprawled out on her bed, Tenshi mask on her bedside nightstand. Sakura closed her eyes. Back in the village of the near future, was life going on without her? What was Ino doing? What was Naruto doing? Sasuke was obviously trying to redirect her mission, and she wouldn't let him.

Orochimaru's assault on the village would come in only a month's time, and frankly, she wasn't sure what to do about it. Having forewarned Kakashi and the Third Hokage, where did that leave her?

Sakura's training was coming along well, although she was only preparing her for the Tsunade-training yet to come. Restless and in need of fresh air, she replaced her mask, put on her sandals and decided to go on a walk.

You know, ninja-style.

Exiting her apartment via window, Tenshi strutted along the apartment complex roof, leaping to the next with grace. Several other ninja leapt around the canopy of shingles, going where ever they were needed. Tenshi herself probably wasn't needed anywhere urgently. However she was indeed hungry and wasn't . . . well, the _best _cook in the world. And with that, Tenshi transformed into a civilian woman and decided to go out to eat.

As she sat down at her table, the door alarm sounded, signalling the arrival of some new customers, and what a coincedence, Team Asuma entered.  
And of course, they were seated back-to-back.

"Ino, calm down, we get it, we get it!" The kunoichi of Team 10 seemed irritated by something.

Don't tell me to calm down Shikamaru! I"ll kill you!" She threatened, reaching for a kunai, however, Asuma grasped her arm.

"Now, now, no need to kill, he's the one we came to celebrate, remember?" Ino's face grew red and she pulled her arm back and sat down rather haughtily.

"What's the big deal Ino? I thought you and Sakura were friends again?" Chouji asked, chowing down on his omnipresent potato chips.

"We are," Ino confirmed as if it were the most obvious thing in the world, "But until Sasuke-kun chooses one of us, we are rivals!"

"Speaking of which, Sakura seemed more powerful than you made her out to be." Asuma inserted, pulling th conversation topic away from Sasuke.

"Yeah, you know those rumors of Konoha's 'superhero', Tenshi?" Here, Tenshi's ears perked up, although she didn't let on, "They say she's been helping Sakura's team with their training, so I bet that's where she got so strong!"

_'I feel honored, there is gossip concerning me . . . ' _Tenshi thought.

"He's a real pervert, but he seems really strong too! He knocked out Ebisu-sensei with one blow!" Naruto yelled excitedly, punching a fist out. Tenshi held out her hand and grabbed Naruto's wrist, flipping him over her right shoulder. He successfully found his feet on the ground.

Tenshi gave a low whistle.

"I tried that on Sasuke earlier today and I totally got him," she whispered conspiratorially.

"Yeah!" Naruto cheered, "Well, I gotta go meet Ero-sennin for my training, so I'll see you later!" Tenshi waved as Naruto raced away. The chunin headed to the training grounds to train herself-in more than one way.

She started for the dusty path that would lead her to her destination.

"Where do you think you're going?" A deep, masculine voice whispered in her ear. Tenshi tensed and leapt quickly, dodging a chidori.

"Sasuke-kun!" She yelped as a fuuma shuriken ripped her clothing, a bloody, red flower blooming on her side.

"Ah! Tenshi-san!" Sakura gasped, stumbling upon the battle.

"Sakura! Get out of here!" Tenshi ordered, blocking a barrage of flaming shuriken with a wall of earth.

"H-hai!" She called, making a run for it. However, Sasuke appeared in front of her, slashing a kunai down from her shoulder to her elbow, a deep wound that would leave a scar. And as proof, a scar materialized on Tenshi's arm, exactly where Sakura's wound was. The younger girl screamed in agony, a sound that should not be possible for a human's vocal chords to achieve.

Tenshi darted for her younger counterpart, but Sasuke quickly summoned a pair of snakes to bind her. Tenshi realized quickly that for some reason, Sasuke was able to maintain the Timetravel Jutsu longer than usual.

"I see, just as I thought . . . " Sasuke's malicious grin scared Tenshi. "This Sakura is much weaker, so if I kill her . . . " His gaze held Tenshi's for a terrible moment, "I kill you."

"Tenshi-san? W-what's going on?" Sakura hiccupped, tears falling rapidly. Sasuke laughed, an undeniably insane laugh.

"Don't you recognize me? Sakura?" He knelt down a grasped the younger pinkette's chin, forcing her to look at his face. Horror filled her eyes, realization struck her across the face . . . Whether she fainted of blood loss, surprise or both, Tenshi didn't know.

Desperately, Tenshi struggled, trying, trying to break free of the reptilian bonds.

"Sasuke-kun! You don't have to kill her! I'm trapped and you can just kill me!" Tenshi yelled, the plea tearing at her throat.

"Well if I did that, this Sakura . . ." He pointed at her neck with his sword, " . . . would still be trouble."

A shiver rocked Tenshi's body, fear, anger at herself and at Sasuke. The avenger's sword rose . . . and fell, fell, fell . . . Sakura's pale throat leaked blood.

Tenshi's eyes opened, tentatively, not knowing what to expect. She saw herself, younger, more innocent . . . and . . . and Sasuke.

The younger Sasuke's kunai bit into the elder's arm, stopping the Kusanagi in its path, although the blade had made slight contact with the skin of Sakura's neck, drawing crimson beads.

"Sasuke-kun! How did you know to come?" Tenshi asked, finding at last enough slack to free her hands and destroy the summons. She noticed the elder begin to answer, accustomed to being addressed as such by Sakura, instead pulling back and examining the damage he had inflicted on himself. Oh cruel irony.

"I could hear Sakura's screams from almost across the village. Is this the guy who did it to her?" He asked. Tenshi watch the curse mark jump across the boy's skin, reaching half-way across his boy. "Heal her."

Tenshi nodded. The Sasuke from her time couldn't hurt this Sasuke too much, considering that if the younger died, so would he.

"Good luck." She whispered.

Green chakra formed around her hands as she healed the gash on Sakura's upper arm. Tenshi felt the scar that had formed on her arm melt back a little into her flesh. She continued the healing process as a reluctant 15-year-old continued to fight the bloodthirsty 12-year-old.

From her sheltered position, Tenshi felt the malevolent chakra signature of Sasuke of the future began to waver. And disappear.

"Tenshi!" Sasuke of the now came crashing through the bushes. "How is she?"

"She'll live-"

"I want some answers. Now."

"I did answer you. She'll live." Tenshi replied smartly, skirting around the real meaning of the question. Sakura stirred.

"I can't give you any details-" She helped Sakura sit up against a tree trunk. "But it's a mission that I've taken on, and that man is attempting to stop me. Maybe in time you'll find what this is all about." Tenshi responded, rather vaguely.

"How did he just disappear like that? Who was he?" More revenge flooded Sasuke's mind.

"He doesn't have perfect chakra control and he's . . . no one you should worry about for the time being."

Sasuke the Short-Tempered now turned his attention from Tenshi to Sakura who was now more conscious. She stroked the fresh pink scar on her arm gently with her index finger.  
"I noticed when . . . that man," the uncanny resemblance crossed her mind, "slashed my arm, a scar appeared on your arm. How?"

Tenshi, at a loss for words, quickly, frantically looked for an explanation. She instead came up with a stalling technique.

"Geez, did I ask these many questions as a genin?" She sputtered, standing up and walking away.

"Wait! What about training!" Sakura called out to her 'sensei'.

"Practice your kunai and shuriken technique!" Tenshi answered, disappearing in a whirlwind of cherry blossom petals.

"Some teacher." Sasuke commented.

Sasuke cursed.

So close to ridding himself of Sakura, the annoying girl, for good. Ironically, he himself ended up getting in the way. Sasuke would need a new method of time travel, one without limited periods of time. He would need something better than this trash of a scroll he had found in Orochimaru's former laboratory. The first one he gained simply from a failed attempt of copying Sakura's-or Tenshi's, as she seemed to be calling herself-jutsu. It left him without a form and barely any chakra.

This second one, his body came with him and he was able to fight normally, albeit he couldn't maintain the justu for too long.

Angrily, he packed up some meager supplies and left the house he and Team Hebi were staying in.

"Off so soon?" Suigetsu questioned, his water bottle at his lips.

"I'm going to see Muramusa."

**Reviews are not required, but they do help. The more reviews, the faster the next chapter goes up. **

**If you want to, I'm open to suggestions!**


	8. Muramusa's Cave

**Big thank you to all the readers and reviewers and favoriters and alerters! It's amazing how many people actually like this story. I must say, I'm quite surprised. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto**

Chapter 8

(110-117)

Sasuke trudged on, past Karin who was saying something completely irrelevant. La di da di da. Walk, walk, walk. Ignoring her. Sakura. She needed to be dealt with. Haku and Zabuza were probably running free somewhere now, the changes already taking affect.

Muramusa, master jutsu maker, Orochimaru's long-time associate. If he couldn't create an effective time travel jutsu for him, no one could.

The forest was dark and cold, wet foilage from a passing rain littered the ground. Sasuke scowled.

_(Ugly_.)

A cave lingered in the recesses of the forest, covered partly by a large bush. Sasuke pushed the bush's branches aside, a thorn pricking his finger.

A skinny, fatigued man sat in an alcove, twirling his paintbrush around in his bony fingers. He was pale and balding, a few wisps of white hair on his head and a lengthy beard. Wrinkled like a prune, he grinned at Sasuke, his smile lacked teeth for the most part and the remaining teeth weren't pretty in the least.

_(Ugly.)_

"What can I do for you my boy?"

Sasuke fingered his sword casually and looked the sickly, old man in the eye.

"I need a scroll."

"Care to explore on that subject? I may just give you a blank scroll if you're not specific!" He laughed manically, sanity lost and never to be found.

"I need a time travel jutsu. One that allows me to go back into the past for as long as I need."

"Oh, such a hefty order to fill!" He cackled again. The man's paintbrush pulsed with chakra, the instrument forming a paint of its own. Muramusa danced the brush across the page, grotesque symbols exuding dark energy, reaching their tempting tendrils of chakra towards Sasuke.

"How much?" Sasuke removed some coins from his pocket.

"Oh, no. It's not done yet. And no money." Muramusa grinned.

_(Ugly.)_

The former Leaf Nin stopped, impatient with this horrific man.

"I want something more."

* * *

Sasuke journeyed to the near town, disguised with a transformation jutsu. What Muramusa wanted wasn't something Sasuke would normally ask for instead of money, it was completely random, but he was sure there was _some_ reason. In the shop described by Muramusa, a rag tag group of skinny, orphan boys skittered about, searching for someone stupid enough to pickpocket. Old women in decaying cloaks sat at tables discussing today's news. Sasuke came up to the clerk, the only one there dressed in fine clothing, and drew out a slip of paper signed by Muramusa.

The clerk scanned the paper uncaringly, but stared at Muramusa's signature with interest.

"The old man's still alive, huh?" He hurried away and returned with a cardboard box. It was small in size, rectangular, and covered with seals.

"Tell him I hope he dies soon."

"Can do."

The package was deceptively heavy, and Sasuke left the place of civilization immediately. Being a wanted criminal, he couldn't to stay there for long. And judging by the poverty, none of them would hesitate to kill him and collect a bounty. He trudged back through the forest, covering his tracks and making good time. The sun was setting rapidly and dark covered his world with a blanket of blackness.

Upon returning to Muramusa's dwelling and delivering the goods, he sat down in the corner and leaned against his Kusanagi sword, using it as a support as sleep dropped in to say 'hello'.

* * *

"Wakey, wakey!" Muramusa woke Sasuke up, unnecessarily. The raven-haired boy grimaced at the ugly man's morning breath and stood up in a brusque manner, as if Muramusa were not worthy of being so close to him.

"The scroll, is finished!" He wheezed out, triumphant glory burning in his eyes as if he were still a child. He showed Sasuke the finished product with pride. "Now in return . . . "

"Give it to me." Sasuke commanded, reaching out for the scroll. However, Muramusa retracted his masterpiece.

"I don't think so. First, we must discuss the terms of-"

"Give it to me now!" Sasuke's Sharingan seared into Muramura's eyes, trapping him in a genjutsu. Sasuke took the scroll and left quickly.

Leaping through the trees, he opened the scroll and studied it. Sasuke reached his thumb up and bit it with his canines, freeing dark blood from his milky flesh. He dragged his thumb across the parchment roughly and felt the jutsu starting to take effect as his body was erased from this time period . . .

And there he was. The trees were still the same, in general. Sasuke wasn't sure if the jutsu had worked or not, but he was going to find out soon.

Eventually, he made it to the house that he and his team were staying at. He opened the door and found it fully furnished. A little boy with a toothy grin was holding a rubber ball in his hands. His smile fell as soon as he saw the sword at the stranger's waist.

Yup, definitly worked.

"DADDY!"

Sasuke took off, this time, heading for the Leaf Village.

* * *

"A LITTLE LATE, AREN'T WE SASUKE!" Tenshi shouted out of the crowd. The people around her roared with agreement.

Sasuke held up his hand in greeting, and a wave of fangirl sighs fell over the audience. Tenshi giggled, but suddenly became wary, staring up at the Hokage's seat.

_'Let me die.'_

_'Not again.'_

"Uh, I'll be right back, Sakura, Tenshi said, waving to her younger counterpart, Ino, and Choji.

"But Sasuke's fight is about to begin-" Sakura began.

"It's okay, I'll be right back." Tenshi repeated her words, hoping Sakura wouldn't suspect anything.

She ran up the stairs quickly, skipping steps, heading away as Sasuke appeared behind Gaara and punched him.

Tenshi skittered around a corner, raising some dust, and sprinted as soon as she regained her momentum.

_Chi, chi, chi, chi!_

Sasuke's chidori sounded throughout the arena as it broke through Gaara's impenetrable barrier of sand.

Tenshi saw feathers drifting down from the air and repelled them, willing her legs to move faster.

Shukaku began to emerge.

A fork in the hallway confused Tenshi, but she followed her instinct and took to the right, never breaking pace.

Several giant snakes came crashing through the walls surrounding Konoha.

Crashing through the doors of the Kage booth, Tenshi drew her fans and sliced at the air, chakra blades tossed out.

It sliced through an ANBU and left him dead. Orochimaru held his kunai to the Sandaime's neck and they leapt upwards onto the roof.

"Hokage-sama!" Tenshi yelled, jumping up to follow them. However, an enemy ANBU grabbed her ankle and pulled her back, swinging a punch at her. She grabbed the fist and used her chakra to crush the bones instantly. Tenshi followed the Leaf ANBU to the rooftop to retrieve their leader, but the purple wall rose just centimeters before her face, nearly ending the girl.

"Kuso!" Tenshi felt the beginning of tears and looked beyond the barrier. "I'm so sorry Hokage-sama . . . " With a heavy heart full of failure, she left to find her team.

* * *

Sasuke entered the fray with a flood of Sound Nin as they invaded the village. No one took notice of him, and he sorted through the chaos looked for that one meddler. To tell the truth, he had no idea where she was, probably at the arena though. So he raced there by rooftop, not minding any of the ensuing battles on the way.

* * *

"Sakura! Kakashi-sensei!" Tenshi landed on the stairs where Kakashi and Gai were defended the sleeping civilians. A sound ninja bounded towards Sakura, but Tenshi and Kakashi cut him off with kunai.

"Focus! This is a life-or-death situation!" Tenshi instructed.

"Sakura, stay like that for a bit. I'll even the odds a little." Kakashi added. And so they continued the battle.

* * *

Sasuke leapt up the side of the walls surrounding the Chunin Exam arena and scanned around the panic and searched for a head of pink hair. Once located, he took his time concealing himself and sneaking around, as not to draw attention to himself. Especially "Tenshi's".

"You're going to die today."

* * *

"Tenshi, Sakura, wake up Naruto and Shikamaru. I'm giving you a mission." The two girls' eyes snapped up to the silver-haired man. "For the first time since the Wave Country mission, an A class mission."

"Sensei! At a situation like this, what kind of A rank mission!" Sakura shouted, ducking.

"Sasuke is in pursuit of Gaara and the others from the Sand. Sakura, Tenshi, you are to nullify the genjutsu on Naruto and Shikamaru and track down Sasuke."

"Hai!" Tenshi pulled Sakura along towards the two boys.

* * *

** I discovered the horizontal ruler. Yaya! I'm using it from now on.**


	9. Would You Kill Me?

**Thanks to everyone for reviewing and asking me to update, it makes me feel special :)**

**Disclaimer: I think we've all established that no one on fanfiction owns anything. At. All.**

Would You Kill Me?

Tenshi knew it was coming. No, she couldn't feel his chakra, nor sense his movement, nor could she see him. But she knew Sasuke more than he thought she did, and more than he knew her. Which gave her an advantage. That's a strategy. Know your friends so you know their weaknesses and strengths. And you'll still know if they decide to become your enemy.

She subtly moved her weapons and tricks to more easily accessible positions.

Tenshi knew that he was more cautious around her. She was more dangerous. And Sakura, protected by Sasuke. So the older one had no way to kill her.

Until his younger self turned to the "dark side".

Whether or not the enemy timetraveler intended to do that sooner or take his chances and wait for Sasuke to make his choice. Would Tenshi's presence alter his course? Maybe. Sasuke wouldn't take his chances. He would try to get Sasuke to leave Konoha and leave poor, defenseless Sakura free for the taking. Which would mean that Tenshi would need to train Sakura and-

"Over thinking things again," Tenshi muttered to herself, releasing Naruto from the genjutsu.

"Eh?" Pakkun, Kakashi's assistant dog came trouncing along, biting Shikamaru and effectively waking him up.

"You were able to deflect the genjutsu too! Why were you playing possum!" Sakura shouted accusingly, pointing a finger at Shikamaru while the accused flailed his leg.

"I didn't want to be attacked! I refuse, who cares about Sasuke?"

"What's going on here!" The flustered and confused Naruto asked innocently.

"Naruto! Behind you!" Sakura shouted. Tenshi reacted quickly and caught the Sound Ninja's stomach with her heel, following the attack with a punch that sent him flying through the wall.

"C'mon, we got a mission," Sakura whispered, the shadows of dueling ninja flying over her figure.

Trees blurring amazingly fast, coming into focus before taking their leave and being replaced with another, the process repeating, and repeating.

"This way!" Pakkun shouted, making a sharp turn to the right, the others following. "We're being followed," Pakkun said lowly to Tenshi, although the wind carried the message to the other three shinobi.

"By whom?"

"How many are there?"

"Are they powerful?"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, one question at a time!" Pakkun exclaimed, suddenly becoming nervous. He sniffed the air again.

"Well?" Tenshi prompted. Pakkun's eyes opened in reassurance that whatever his nose told him must have been true.

"Nine Sound Village ninja are on our trail, at least of Chunin level, probably higher," Pakkun informed Tenshi.

"I'll act as a decoy and you three will continue to Sasuke, got it?" Tenshi decided, although an underlying plot was clear in her voice, daring someone to challenge her orders.

"Well, actually, Tenshi-san, I'm sure that Gaara guy far outranks those other ninja put together, maybe I could buy you some time and-"

"Okay! Have fun!" Tenshi interrupted, the genius fell for it hook, line and sinker.

"Wha? No 'It's too dangerous' or 'the mission is more important'?" Shikamaru asked, even though his request wasn't denied. "It makes the moment more dramatic and serious!"

"Now isn't the time for drama. If you wanted drama, you should've joined a reality TV show instead of the Academy."

"Gee thanks," Shikamaru said sarcastically.

"No problem, bye!" Tenshi called over her shoulder. The group of four left Shikamaru, who was sure Tenshi had some kind of mental problem at this point. She seemed in a rush, but perhaps she had a reason. Tenshi better have had a reason, because he was beginning to think annoyingness was a common trait among pinkettes.

"Do you really think Shikamaru will be able to handle all of them by himself?" Naruto asked worriedly.

"Yeah, he's a big boy now. And besides, moving in a four-man-squad is more convenient." Tenshi explained, gaining speed. "Now keep up, they're dead ahead."

"I would like it better if you didn't use the word 'dead'," Sakura mumbled.

"Oi!" Pakkun said sometime later, "The pursuers have stopped moving!"

"He did it! He was successful in stopping them in their tracks!" Naruto exclaimed.

"That Shikamaru!"

"Tenshi!" Pakkun growled.

"What is it?"

"Sasuke's movement has stopped! There still a little ways to go-Oi!"

"What is it, Pakkun?"

"I never noticed it up until now but . . . You and that other pink-haired girl back there use the same shampoo as I!"

A crack and a yelp reverberated throughout the confines of the forest. Tenshi took a quick head count and determined that the 'other pink-haired girl back there' had taken the news a bit more seriously and at the same time comically, as she had landed on a thin branch which snapped under her weight and momentum, causing her to either fall or hang onto a different branch, if her reflexes were not in shock as well.

"Well that could've gone better."

"And there's someone else besides us chasing Sasuke!" Their eyes narrowed.

"Enemy or ally?"

"I don't know, only, it's not human!"

"Well, almost all the allies I have are human, the only one who's not being you," Tenshi answered, referring to Pakkun in the last part. "What about you guys? Any friends who aren't human?"

"Well, I know this one guy, I don't know if he's human or not, but he's pretty weird," Naruto quipped thoughtfully.

"If you're thinking of Lee or Gai-sensei, they still count as human," Sakura deadpanned.

"Now's not the time for that, look up ahead!" Tenshi pointed as they came across the battlefield of Sasuke and Gaara.

"Oh no! Sasuke's hurt!" Sakura exclaimed. Naruto, sensing this was a dire situation sped up wo he could make it there in time, and by in time, I think we all know I mean at the last second.

"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura shouted, landing next to him as Naruto took a defense stance in front.

"Te-Tenshi-san!" The said girl looked up.

"Who . . . who the hell is that!" Naruto asked, pointing to the beast that was Gaara.

" . . ."

". . . "

"What? Seriously? The red hair, the gourd, the 'love' tattoo, the eyes, and you STILL have to ask who it is? I mean, I know he looks a little deformed, but he has quite a bit of defining characteristics. And if you're going for a dramatic moment, I'm going to tell you the same thing I told Shikamaru, 'If you wanted drama, you should've joined a reality TV show instead of the Academy'," Tenshi answered, since this time, Gaara was the least of her worries.

"Guys! Get out of here!" Naruto called, Gaara's terrifying transformation rushing past him and towards Sasuke.

"DIE, SASUKE UCHIHA!" His distorted voice screamed. Sakura tightened her grip on her kunai and stood to face Gaara.

"Sakura-chan!"

Gaara hesitated.

His hand shot through the air, grabbing Sakura and binding her to a tree.

-and here, Gaara proceeds to have a long flashback which shows the readers his past and gives the fangirls a chance to squeal over a little Gaara-

Pakkun sniffed the air, then turned to whisper to Tenshi while they waited for Gaara to finish his flashback.

"I smell someone else, it's kind of familiar, but not at the same time." Tenshi nodded, getting the clue she was waiting for.

"Thanks Pakkun, now, can you do me a favor and not tell the others about this?" Pakkun nodded, albeit a bit suspicious of the request.

Tenshi leapt away from the battle, no one realizing her sudden departure. She planted four kunai in the ground, applying her chakra to each, and laid in wait.

The soft tap of footsteps alarmed her to the approach of whom she hoped to be Sasuke.

_'Yes.'_

"Wire Binding Justu!" Tenshi yelled, using the same exact jutsu as in Chapter 5 to entrap the same exact person.

"Sakura!" Sasuke growled, struggling to free himself from her chakra trap.

"Yes, Sasuke-kun?" She answered mockingly, sitting cross-legged on the ground in front of him.

"Let. Me. Out." It wasn't a request, it was a command, as if she would still do everything he told her to do out of fear of disappointing him.

"Why? So you can kill me?"

He had no reply.

"I want to ask you something."

Sasuke's eyes lifted to meet hers.

"Why are you doing this?"

Motivation. No one does anything without a reason. Whether it's for revenge, or boredom, the 'what' will always lead back to the 'why'.

"And don't say 'On a whim'. That weak excuse you gave _Naruto_ for not killing him after you left, and when we met again and you wanted to _kill your best friend_."

"Shut up, Sakura."

"No! I want an answer!" The cage wavered for a moment.

_'Keep your cool, Sakura.'_ She thought to herself, remembering the key to maintaining the jutsu.

"Why?" She choked.

Sasuke pondered it. Why? Did he want to remain an outcast? A criminal? Now that he knew the truth, did he want Itachi dead? And leading to that, did he still want the power that he meant to use against Itachi?

Would Sakura's interference make his life . . .

Better?

"Sasuke-kun?"

"I felt like I had to."

"That's just saying it was on a whim," Tenshi whispered, removing her mask, discarding her facade and becoming the girl who, not to long ago, raised her fist against him. Becoming Sakura. "Look at me Sasuke-kun."

He consented. Grudgingly.

"Why are you trying to stop me?"

"Because you're my enemy and any action you take is an action against me."

"Now, Sasuke-kun, what did I do that made me your enemy?" Sakura smiled an odd sort of smile.

Forcing Sasuke to agree with oneself isn't an easy task, considering his agressive nature and impulsive actions. The combination of his rage and Sakura's release of the jutsu caused the structured chakra to collapse on itself violently.

"Sasuke-kun!" The wavering dust cloud billowed dramatically and settled all too slowly, fitting in such a situation.

"Sasuke-kun?"

His massive, overwhelming presence appeared behind her. And froze.

Nostalgia overtook their senses.

"If I let you, would you kill me?" Sakura whispered, all her muscles relaxing, her mind at peace.

"No. Would you?" Sasuke responded.

"No."

His fleeing footfalls echoed in Sakura's mind, the fleeting memory of the boy she fell in love with returning. She whirled around, staring off among the age-old trees.

"TENSHI!"

* * *

**Reviews are like donations for the striving author.**


	10. Different Time Zones

**It's difficult to follow the manga for quotes. Really. Oh, and CRAP by the way. It's supposed to be spelled 'Muramasa'. Oh well, let's just say it's a "unique spelling" or its a pun. Whereas 'Muramasa' implies a swordsmith, let's say 'Muramusa' means some kind of scroll creator...type...person...**

**Disclaimer: Where there are anime/mangas, there are fanfiction writers. And where there are fanfiction writers, there is a sense of non-owning-ness.**

Different Time Zones

**Way Back When:**

Tenshi stood watching as Sasuke, the younger, with his partially released curse mark, lay Sakura down. He stared at her for a long time. Tenshi felt heavy in her chest as her shoulders sagged. Her teeth clenched together, nearly splintering each other.

Sasuke, the one who had overcome time to be—deal—with Tenshi sat above this scene, watching. Staring. Tenshi looked upset. He felt . . . How did he feel? What did he feel? The confusion of his emotions flooding back into his body consumed him. He was _feeling _again. Sasuke Uchiha was not supposed to be _feeling_ anything, much less anything have to do with something as useless and weak as-

Never mind.

"What was I thinking right now?" He whispered. A flash of black, and he was gone.

Of course Tenshi felt his presence hovering above her. She was going to confront him again, there was just so much more to say, but she lost her nerve. Her legs simply refused to move and her eyes simply refused to leave the heart-stopping sight of Sasuke looking at her with something a little gentler than disgust. By the time she had counted down from three chanting: '_I will talk to him, I will talk to him,'_ his chakra signature had dissipated and she had felt a slight shift in her surroundings.  
"Oh my gosh," Tenshi whispered, overwhelmed, with a hand pressing on her heart. Her body shuddered violently. Her throat choked up and searing tears burned her skin as they rolled fat down her cheeks. Tenshi's eyes felt red and on fire, her body gone stiff. She was on her feet now.

**I'm in the Now . . . Man . . .:**

Muramusa was furious. Yes, he had known that this generation was much more crude that the last. The last was crude as well, but with a sense of more respect, if not fear, in their voice and actions. This Sasuke Uchiha was a quintessential example of exactly how unappreciative and 'funky-fresh' they all were, and thought they were.

Yeah, Muramusa's very old. He has no idea that nobody says 'funky-fresh' anymore.

So, Muramusa was furious. I think we all know why. A certain Uchiha boy had disrespected his elders and he was going to pay. In due time.

A glove.

That was what was in the package.

Not an intricately woven glove bedazzled with pretty little sequins and rhinestones. Not a long fingerless glove with a bountiful array of yellow, greens and blues, depicting dragons and bonsai trees on the dyed silk. Just a black glove. Not even a pair for that matter.

"I made the scroll, what makes you think I can't make another?" Muramusa laughed to himself thrusting his rough, bony hand into the deceptively powerful glove.

As the glove tugged at the valleys in between his fingers, a demonic aura was suddenly released, as if the key to a monstrous secret had finally made contact with its lock.

Muramusa's sickly, pale skin peeled off, starting at the gloved hand and unwrapping around his few wisps of hair and down his back. A deep, mahogany layer of flesh was revealed underneath. Bulging, bug-eyed orbs poked out of his skull; clear, red, bloodshot veins laced frantically from his yellow irises to the edges of the white. His weak, skinny arms suddenly becoming more muscular and defined, rippled and undulated when flexed. White, shaggy tufts emerged from his long dead hair follicles. They formed a long mane running down to his lower back. From the crown of his head sprung two little horns, protruding devilishly.

"Ahh . . . that's better," Muramusa hissed with the voice of a fox. Muramura flexed his blackened hand from which the glove had melted and elongated into his skin. He picked up his brush, dipped it in his ink well, and began to write on a blank scroll.

"It's good to be in my demon form again."

**I Do Not Dwell on the Past!:**

Tenshi's feet were lifted from the ground, dangling helplessly. Her eyes traveled up the black arm, which shifted to mahogany just after the crease of the elbow.

"So are you the other time traveler?" came the question. Tenshi struggled to draw breath for her words.

"So what if I am?"

Muramusa's grip tightened and a staccato chirp of escaping breath left Tenshi's lips.

"If you are, I might just have to kill you."

Tenshi reached her palms downwards, searching for earth. With tremendous effort, a spike of rock shot from the forest floor, upper cutting the demon's chin and twisting his head 120 degrees the wrong way. A _crack_ sound came from the demon's neck as he released Tenshi and she staggered backwards in temporary retreat. The demon's hands clutched his chin and the space between the horns, winding his head back into place.

As she watched the somewhat disturbing spectacle, Tenshi's mind screamed at both the improbability of there being a demon, and the fact that _necks don't work that way_.

"Hehe, now my chin's kinda numb," the demon said, itching at his chin and removing the residual dirt. "And you made me bite my tongue."

_'Sasuke's chakra is gone.'_ Tenshi thought as she recollected her senses.

"Who are you, _what_ are you, and what do you want?" _Composure . . ._

"Muramusa the demon, pleased to meet you, I'd like to eat your soul."

As the tension and plot thickened, Tenshi decided to bring up some comic relief.

"Huh, haven't heard that pick-up line before."

Muramusa growled, his perfectly dramatic plot appearance completely ruined because _this girl _hadn't shown fear at his, to be frank, freakishness.

"Is that it?" he barred his fangs. The girl pondered the meaning of the question, then the answer that she would deliver.

"Yeah," she shrugged, not understanding why he would want more of a reaction.

"Perhaps you didn't hear me, I am a _demon_."

Tenshi crossed her arms.

"Big deal. I've seen demons before. Do you not see the two fighting over there?" Tenshi gestured to Gaara and Naruto duking it out, Shukaku wreaking havoc on the forest and Naruto transforming himself and Gamabunta into the Kyuubi. "It may just be their size, but I'm a little more afraid of them than of you. Maybe if you come back at a better time-"

"Never mind that! I'm going to eat your soul whether you-"

"And your name, 'Muramusa'? I believe it's supposed to be Muramasa, and if you're trying to do a play on words, I have reason to believe that you are failing. Any Japanese person or non-Japanese person extremely immersed in Japanese history knows that Muramasa was a master swordsmith, however, Muramusa is just a typo. You must have been written into my story by an incompetent author."

"_Your _story?"

"Yeah, _my_ story. I don't _see_ your name included on the character listing. And _my_ name comes before Sasuke's, therefore _I _am the main character. Not to mention that the majority of the story follows _me._" Tenshi smirked.

Muramusa scrolled up to the top of the page.

"No, the first name on the character listing is Sakura H., not _Tenshi._"

An exasperated sigh.

"Didn't you read Chapter 2? Yeesh, I _am_ Sakura." Tenshi blinked in realization and pointed an accusatory finger at the offending beast. "You made us break the fourth wall!"

"Damn straight. I'm the_ bad guy_. I make protagonists break the fourth wall."

"Oh you are _evil_."

"So will you acknowledge me as the antagonist in this fanfiction or not." Tenshi shrugged and put a finger to her chin.

"I may consider it. However you're going to have to do more than break the fourth wall. You'll have to attempt to or succeed in murdering one of my best friends or my love interest. Or if you don't want to go through the trouble of character death, then you'll probably have to interfere with my mission and provide conflict. Do know, however, that I will end up sealing or killing you during the climatic peak of this story. So you'll have to sign a release form as well." Muramusa thought it a good enough deal. Tenshi produced a small, white binder and began to explain the guidelines.

**A Little Bit into the Future While Still Remaining in the Past:**

"Okay, where were we!" Tenshi procured her twin fans.

"I believe I was about to eat your soul!"

"I'm sorry, but that item is out of stock!" Muramusa put up a hand.

"That was really lame." Tenshi, snapped one of her fans close and gently wafted air on to her masked face with the other, an sense of uptight what-do-you-mean-by-that forming around the slighted girl.

"Well a humanoid demon isn't exactly every fan girl's dream." Muramusa's eye twitched.

"Tch, whatever." Muramusa bent his knees and lunged at Tenshi, claws outstretched. Tenshi released her other fan and circled her arm to deflect his claws, catching the wrists. The alternate fan held against his neck poked at his skin with the miniature knives separating each section within the fan. Muramusa launched himself backwards onto a different tree branch to avoid the sharp protrusions. With the backwards momentum, Muramusa dug his claws into the bark and dropped his legs, swinging himself around the bottom of the branch and back up towards Tenshi. The girl, looking rather calm, playful, and not terribly serious, took a step backwards, and waving 'bye-bye', moving each consecutive finger forwards and back, before falling flat off the branch. Muramusa stopped his offense attack and landed crouched on the branch previously occupied by his opponent. Gingerly, he leaned forward to see where Tenshi had fallen, eventually to the point where his head was upside down. Tenshi, positioned in an upside-down crouch beneath the tree, repeated the same wave as before, but with a more 'hello' effect. She then formed a fist with her gloved hand, chakra rushing to her knuckles, and punched Muramusa square in the face. The demon, overwhelmed from the recent concussion, dropped to the ground and promptly passed out.

"Hmm, well that wasn't much of a challenge. Perhaps I should let him redeem himself later on in the story," Tenshi said thoughtfully, standing over the knocked-out form of Muramusa, "I can't believe I just K-Oed a demon, this one is going down in the record books."

Tenshi then turned on her heel and walked away.

* * *

**My brain died.**

**If you like breaking the fourth wall, then you should review**

**:)**

**Smilie.**


	11. Failures

**Yes, I know it's been a while. No, I'm not losing interest, like most everyone else here, I'm experiencing difficulties making time for my precious fanfics. As for Kurama's Foxy Rose, that came out wrong. I myself do find Sesshoumaru to be rather attractive. I mean the oni-type demons that you see in the japanese scroll paintings like tengu and kappas, not the hot ones in anime. **

**Disclaimer: Well, let's just say I'm working on it.**

Failures

"I'm just off my game. That's all. I've only just regained my body and I need time to adjust," Muramusa said in his throaty voice to his mirrored reflection in the dirty, public bathroom. A civilian man entered the facility, rusty door hinges screeching violently. The sound alerted Muramusa's sharp, pointed ears and the hulking demon turned to the offending man. After a brief moment of hole-draddle-rats-there's-a-demon-in-the-bathroom, the civilian man whipped around and ran screaming for the hills. The demon in question grunted.

"Huh, maybe I smell."

* * *

"Dammit. My first failure," Tenshi confessed to Kakashi, tears leaking out from under her mask. The man draped his arm around her shoulder in what he hoped would be a comforting gesture.

"If it happened twice, then it was inevitable." Uh, that could've come out better.

"But I was supposed to _save_ him. Not let him die!"

"Tenshi, listen, if he hadn't died, the Fifth wouldn't have come along. That was a good thing, wasn't it?"

"If it weren't for her, I never would've made it this far," Tenshi admitted, settling her tensed muscles. Kakashi seized the opportunity.

"Don't waste your time wallowing in the 'what-if's and 'if-only's. Focus on what you can do _now_." Tensh shot upright, inspired and enlightened.

"You're absolutely right!" Tenshi exclaimed, eyes ablaze, "Thanks Kakashi-sensei, you're the best."

Abandoning Kakashi at the Memorial Stone, Tenshi splashed through puddles and sloshed through muddy expanses before reaching the funeral procession.

Everyone had paid their respects and cold rain mingled with hot tears. Something really touching about the Will of Fire. Tenshi, still garbed in glowing, snow white, laid her matching rose atop the pile and took her required post at the podium. Superhero, eh?

"The Sandaime was a great man, He was involved with the people of this village and actually cared about every one of us and knew each of us by name. He—" Tenshi's hand clutched at the side edges of the podium as she dropped her head and laughed callously.

"I'm sorry, I can't do this

"I don't need to tell you that he loved you. You already know. And I don't need to tell you how he loved you, or how much he loved you, or why or in what ways. You already know the answer to those too. And we all loved him. That's why we're here.

"He kept the Will of Fire alive, even dying for it. So we owe it to him to keep it going. Not because we need a new Hokage, or because we need this village to function, but because we owe it to him. I will personally go and help seek out our Godaime . . . " Tenshi's mind fell flat, not able to find a good place or way to end her speech. So she bowed her head quickly and left before the crowd could react.

She fled to the tori gate bridge and sat upon the highest perch. Rain poured fierce needles, and for once, Tenshi needed to feel the rain. She removed her porcelain mask and drew her head back, exposing her skin to the sky.

"Tenshi, I—" Guard dropped like her mask from her startled fingers, a brilliant symphony of dribbling shards and needles swelling on the painted red platform of the tori gate bridge. Sakura, by accident, had shattered Tenshi's mask.

A sharp breath darted out of Sakura's lips and her hand reached up to catch it as she staggered back slightly. Tenshi jerked her head forward, covering her true identity with a curtain of pink. She pushed herself off of her perch and landed on the site of the ruins of her disguise.

"T-Tenshi?" Sakura took a hesitant step forward; a small pooling of water pulsed outwards from her foot. Tenshi, caught red-handed, decided not to run.

"I wish I could've hid this longer," she confessed as she turned to face her younger counterpart, bracing herself for the reaction. The rain reigned for a moment, as Sakura gathered her thoughts and Tenshi steeled herself.

"Oh." Tenshi blinked.

"That's it? 'Oh'?" Sakura shook her head and restarted.

"No, it's just . . . I don't know how to respond to . . . _this_."

Tenshi looked past Sakura and saw Kakashi with his hand on Naruto's shoulder, the boy poised with his arm and hand outstretched and his mouth opened into a dark void.

"Looks like the jig's up. Don't tell Sasuke, he . . . when I explain, it will hurt him the most. I . . . " _I don't know how to tell him that his evil is the reason I'm here._

Sakura nodded numbly, understanding. Tenshi knelt to the ground, gathering her shards gingerly, careful not to cut herself.

"I guess I'll need a replacement," she mused, accepting a shard from Sakura, who had begun to help her. Naruto joined the two, mind clouded and unfocused. Kakashi stood by idly, watching for Sasuke.

Tenshi deposited the shards in her weapons pouch and sat cross-legged on the apex of the bridge. Sakura and Naruto, realizing that it was story-time joined her.

"As you can see, I'm . . . Sakura. From the future. I'm here on a mission. I was supposed to change the course of time, for in only a couple of years . . ." she trailed off, but restarted, "Sasuke became a rogue ninja and invaded the village. I came back to try to stop him from leaving in the first place. I'm making side-trips to stop as many deaths as possible. Like Zabuza and Haku, they originally died. Please, keep this a secret. No one else needs to know my identity, and Sasuke . . . I'll tell him when I feel it's time."

Naruto spoke.

"When will that be?"

"I don't know."

Kakashi tapped his finger on Tenshi's shoulder, glistening with rain.

"Sasuke's here."

The silhouette of the boy approached lazily. Tenshi bolted straight up, exchanged good-byes and vanished in a flurry of cherry blossoms.

"So you're leaving for training?" Tenshi asked, her new mask returned to its rightful place. She had come across the two on their way to exit the village

"Yeah, Ero-Sennin's gonna teach me a new jutsu so I can become stronger than Sasuke!"

"You know, Naruto, knowing a whole bunch of jutsu won't necessarily make you stronger. It depends on how you implement the technique."

"You're just jealous!"

"So the craziest thing just happened to me. I was passing by and I saw Kakashi, Asuma, Kurenai and Sasuke. And Sasuke said he was planning on buying sweets. I mean, any dedicated Naruto fan _knows _that Sasuke _hates_ sweets. What's up with that?" Tenshi shook her head in disapproval. "But then I found another scan that said he hated them and Kakashi said something like, 'Do you?'. I was thoroughly confused."

Tenshi's stance suddenly turned into one of hostility, without a word, she half-dashed to the right and a twirl of cherry blossoms overtook her. And with that, she was gone.

When Tenshi opened up her eyes again, she was in the middle of a concrete road, standing near the water, between Asuma and Kurenai, and Kisame and Itachi. She turned on the two Akatsuki members and pointed at them. Itachi muttered something like 'pointing was rude' and Kisame looked on with fading interest.

"What are you two doing here?"

Itachi examined the girl with a flowing veil of chakra around her, maintaining some type of jutsu, and based on the pattern, a space-time jutsu. His eyes traveled to her pink hair, the obvious pink hair that said you'd have to be an idiot not to recognize it. He had never expected tiny, sensitive Haruno Sakura would have been able to master a jutsu of that caliber. However, he distinctly remembered her to be the same age as Sasuke, true, a bit older, but only by months, not by years. And based on her mask, she must have been undercover, hiding from her own people.

Without warning, Kisame let loose his Samehada, whistling through the air, intent on crushing Tenshi's pretty little head. She escaped the infamous sword with a quick back flip and slid backwards, creating a fairly nice cloud of dust in her wake. Kisame, quick to react, instead lunged at Asuma while Tenshi and Kurenai hoped their genjutsu was strong enough to take on that of a Sharingan's.

Kurenai's jutsu ultimately failed and she was tossed into the river-canal, Tenshi too late in her timing, imperfect, doomed to failure. In hopes of redemption, Tenshi followed into the river to assist her battle partner. She heard a chant calling forth some dastardly water style jutsu. When Tenshi looked up from the water's surface with Kurenai's arm wrapped around her shoulders, Kakashi had appeared on the scene, Sharingan activated.

Although it seemed everyone knew everyone else through legacies and Bingo Books, they were all nervous. Would their opponents live up to their reputations? Would they simply disappoint?

One way to find out.

Kisame was restless to start, but Itachi delayed the process.

"Remember why we are here in the first place, getting injured is not the reason why we came here!" he warned his partner. Kakashi spoke.

"Then would you mind telling us why you've come here?" Although Itachi turned away, he held Kakashi's gaze.

"We've come looking for something."

"Looking for something?" Kakashi echoed. They began their postponed battle with a water jutsu. One shuriken and clone after another, an explosion, unfortunately missing a fireball and instead composed of water. Tenshi, invisible in her dress devoid of reputation and legacy, hovered, perched like a bird in the cover of leaves and branches, although she felt Itachi was still tracking her location.

Kakashi was suddenly caught in Tsukiyomi overcome with the genjutsu and incapacitated. He fell to his knees, struggling to stay conscious and not to break.

"You're looking for Sasuke . . . aren't you?"

"No . . ."

"We are after the Fourth Hokage's isan."

"Your target is the Kyuubi inside of Naruto, isn't it?" Kakashi, was straight to the point. It wasn't Naruto they were after, it was the demon inside him.

"You have begun to move, you think we don't know? The name of you organization, it's Akatsuki, isn't it?" The two exposed shinobi narrowed their eyes, threats aglow in the essence of their pupils.

"Kisame, take Kakashi out.

"It's time for these people to disappear." Tenshi, sensing this was the moment, let the panels of her fan cascade down. She leaned forward, and almost fell, following her halt in the realization that another Jonin had arrived to stop the disappearing.

"Leaf Whirlwind!" Tenshi reshifted her weight and decided this was not her fight. She aimed herself like a slingshot against the flexible branch and gathered chakra at her feet. She shot herself towards her fallen sensei and scooped Kakashi and hefted him over her shoulder. Tenshi skidded over the temperament of the water, giving rise to a cloud of mist.

"Tenshi, Kurenai, take Kakashi to get some medical help."

"Already on it."

Tenshi deposited Kakashi in his room's bed, and put him in the care of Kurenai, instructing her vaguely and giving a quick run-down of his condition. She tracked down Sasuke after a while and informed him of Kakashi's condition. When he asked if she was coming or not, Tenshi looked up and away into the sky and said she to meet up with her at the ramen shop when he was finished checking on Kakashi.

Moments later, Sasuke was there, asking about Naruto and Itachi. Tenshi pulled him by the collar onto the wall surrounding Konoha and pointed at the easily recognizable spikes of hair disappearing into the horizon. In an effort to conserve chakra, they ran.

The little town was hung with banners and Sasuke looked frantic. He ran into a motel and asked the receptionist if a blonde stupid-faced guy about his age and a large white-haired old man were staying there. Tenshi walked up behind him.

"Sasuke, that's not really how you properly ask someone that." He shushed her rudely.

"Yeah, I think I know the people you're looking for."

"Which room?" Sasuke sped up the stairs while Tenshi bowed respectfully and said 'Arigato' to the man. Sasuke immediately returned and yanked her by the wrist, signaling her to follow. She quickly recovered from the shock and jumped from wall to wall of the winding staircase in order to keep up with the Uchiha boy. He impeded his mad run at the room and knocked anxiously, sweat on his lips. Tenshi landed beside him and licked the salt from the skin around her mouth. The door hatch _clicked _open and Sasuke wrenched the handle the rest of the way open to find a couple of a matching description, but were, oddly enough, not Jiraiya and Naruto.

"Wrong . . ." Sasuke muttered, slamming the door.

"Gomen!" Tenshi called through the barrier, sprinting after Sasuke and the site of his next bold plan.

Tenshi, scanning the area for chakra spikes, put her hand on Sasuke's shoulder, halting his progress.

"This way!" she shouted in her adrenaline and flicked her head over in the direction in which she felt Itachi's presence. He did not respond instantaneously, which concerned Tenshi, so she gave him a sharp shake on his shoulder until his eyes looked more focused and anger welled up in them and he was gone down the street with her close behind.

By the time she had caught up, she was almost sent careening into Sasuke, because he had his feet planted firmly in the ground and was squaring off with Itachi and Kisame.

"Indeed, today is a special day, don't you think? This is the second time I've seen another Sharingan," Kisame mused and looked up at Tenshi, "And look, the little chickadee from earlier is here to play as well."

"Sasuke . . ." Tenshi warned, although she took a step back.

"I will kill you."

* * *

**Well . . . yeah. I saw that whole sweets thing and went into mental shut down and I had to reload all my data and everything. SASUKE DOES NOT LIKE SWEETS. So who was he buying them for . . . ? -evil face-**


	12. Sasuke's Injury

**So I was editing this story when I looked up and saw the genre was humor. But since it's getting deep, I'm kind of concerned that I won't be able to keep as light a tone as I was using earlier on. I put the first paragraph because it has some trace of humor, so yes. Very poor humor I admit, but hey. Mr. Ukki is the plant that Naruto gave Kakashi, because surprisingly, Naruto has the patience for gardening.**

**Disclaimer: Mr. Ukki says that I don't own Naruto. Mr. Ukki is a talking plant.**

Sasuke's Injury

Well we've acquired different names for Sakura and Tenshi. So now my faithful readers, we are aware that when Tenshi waters Mr. Ukki, it is the pink-haired girl from the future, or Shippuden. We are also aware that when Sakura tosses the shuriken, it is the pink-haired girl from the past, or pre-Shippuden. You may have noticed some times when I have referred to Tenshi as Older Sakura or Sakura, depending on the situation, but you were able to differentiate the Mr. Ukki-watering-girl from the shuriken-tossing-girl due to the context. However, when you read the title of this chapter, you probably didn't know which Sasuke has an injury, the post-Shippuden or the pre-Shippuden. So now we might have to consider a new alias for this Older Sasuke without this poor tired author having to type out Older Sasuke every time. However, coming up with a new name is tiresome and frankly, I have found those of you on fanfiction to be smarter than the average non-otaku, so I trust that you will be able to find the difference between the two due to the context. It will get confusing when the two meet, so convenience sake, if one of you readers has a name for post-Shippuden Sasuke, I'd be glad to hear it.

Now onto the story.

Tenshi's presence was certainly enough to pique the Akatsuki members' attention. Itachi saw the flow of time washing around her, which made her a person of slight interest.

Naruto seemed to be completely befuddled by the relationship between the two Sharingan wielders.

"You seem to be familiar with Itachi," Kisame observed before addressing Itachi, "Who is this guy?"

"He is my . . . younger brother." Kisame absorbed this information with curiosity scrawled onto his face.

"I heard the entire Uchiha clan was wiped out . . . by you." Tenshi cautiously watched the reaction on Naruto's face as he pieced the puzzle together.

Following an intense moment of staring down, Sasuke's hand took on a devastatingly light blue glow as a flock of birds' chirps flew through the hallway.

"I've been wanting to say this to you. I've lived hating you and also that I have lived only to kill you."

Itachi regarded this with cruel apathy.

"I have lived for this!" he proclaimed, dragging his Chidori along the face of the wall with infallible speed and an ugly battle cry that tore at his throat. With a quick side-step and an upwards punch into his brother's stomach Itachi countered Sasuke's technique. The energy from Chidori had kept going, although its user was left behind, and blasted through several layers of unfortunate rock.

Naruto, seeing this as a good moment to interrupt before things got ugly, decided he needed to do something. As his Kyuubi chakra swelled within the room, Kisame and Itachi directed their attention to the reason they were originally there.

"You're in the way," Itachi growled as he clamped down onto Sasuke's left wrist, and Tenshi's medical expertise told her that the resulting crack signaled that it was broken.

Naruto muttered a curse and the beginning of a jutsu name before Kisame smiled a mouthful of sharp teeth and slashed Samehada. Tenshi flashed across the room behind Itachi and blocked the mass of bandages with her closed fan and pumped chakra into her arm so she could fully deflect it and send it flying. But due to Samehada's chakra eating properties, not only did her chakra fail her, but Naruto's jutsu was also negated.

"Well you just love to interfere, don't you?" Kisame quipped, "I might just have to severe one of your limbs." Tenshi abandoned her trademark fans for a sharper, pointier, more practical weapon like a kunai and twirled it around her finger before gripping it. Her gaze fell on Sasuke's pained expression and her ears picked up Naruto's grunted efforts at trying to produce chakra. She made the mistake of looking from Sasuke to Itachi and his eyes paralyzed her for a dangerous second as Samehada came hurtling through the air.

A high-pitched _thud _sounded through the hallway along with a spell of white smoke as Tenshi found the strength to push Naruto back away from the toad warrior. Jiraiya stood behind them with an unconscious woman slung over his shoulder.

"You don't seem to know very much about me," he said with a smirk, I'm better at getting girls than they are trying to get me. Even though it doesn't look like it, It's my specialty."

Naruto and Jiraiya then delved into a debate over Jiraiya's sexiness and/or lack of willpower when it came to pretty women. Tenshi, having no interest in such nonsense, immediately tended to Sasuke, quickly retrieving him from Itachi. Tenshi blocked out their confirmation of the Akatsuki's interest in Naruto, or rather, his Kyuubi. Sasuke's wrist was bent horribly and when she touched it, he winced. She was halfway through healing his fractured wrist when he jerked away and rose, painstakingly rose to his feet.

"Don't do it," he breathed. Tenshi whispered softly.

"Sasuke . . . your wrist . . ." Her plea went unheeded.

"This guy . . . _is mine!_" Itachi was once again, unmoved.

"I have absolutely no interest in you right now." Sasuke took two tired steps towards his long-hated brother before he delivered a swift kick to his stomack and sent him flying down the hall and against a wall two feet well above the ground with the unused momentum racking Sasuke's body.

"SASUKE!" Naruto and Tenshi called simultaneously as they began to rush at their attackers.

"Naruto! Tenshi! I told you . . . _don't_. _This fight is mine!"_

Reluctantly, and perhaps more for Sasuke's pride than anything else, they relented and Tenshi most of all wanted to help but felt bound not to.

Sasuke was continuously beaten with half-punches that caused blood to fly from his mouth and the realization that he wasn't ready to be here fighting his brother. Naruto grit his teeth and clenched his teeth with Tenshi's outstretched hand on his shoulder. She closed her eyes and turned her head from the dreadful display, biting her lip until a fine line of red droplets were painted onto her lips. However much she prevented herself from the interference she was famous for, however much she tightened her grip on Naruto's bruising shoulder, the sound of Sasuke's pained grunts and Itachi's fist did not cease to batter her ears.

"Why can't we help him?" Naruto asked. Tenshi contemplated this question before a long sigh escaped her bloody lips.

"Oh screw Sasuke's pride."

They shot past Kisame as Jiraiya thrust his hands against the floor and a fleshy pink flooded the hall.

"Toad Mouth Bind Justu!"

Sasuke was sucked into the flesh walls of the toad and Itachi and Kisame were utterly confused.

"Too bad, Itachi, Kisame. You are already inside my stomach."

Itachi whispered a few more words of contempt into Sasuke's ear that Tenshi could not make out from her distance.

The two S-rank criminals bolted for an exit, intent on escaping from Jiraiya's jutsu. Naruto shouted a question that was lost as Tenshi pried Sasuke from the toad's flesh with difficulty. Jiraiya examined the burning black flames of Amaterasu as Tenshi freed Sasuke and began to assess his condition. Jiraiya sealed the fire into a scroll while Tenshi resumed fixing his wrist and a fractured rib.

"Hey, Sasuke . . . are you . . . alright?" she said carefully, unsure of his emotional state. His eyes were open, but unusually empty and tired.

The sound of a kunai zipping behind her head caused Tenshi to arch the small of her back as a reflexive measure.

"Gai?" Jiraiya said before successfully being struck by the said spandexter's Dynamic Entry.

"Tenshi!" Naruto shouted desperately, "Is Sasuke going to be okay?" With a weak attempt at being the shining light in this dark situation, she chose a light tone.

"Of course, I fixed him up, he's . . ." Here she trailed off, "He got some mental abuse from Itachi, that is something I can't fix . . . but, Tsunade can."

Mental damage was complex and something that Tenshi did not want to experiment with was the mind of an already messed up comrade.

Naruto claimed that he was going to go after Sasuke's attacker. Tenshi bunched her skirt in her fist and spoke as calmly as possibly, although the same rage burned deep within her.

"Naruto . . . this is Sasuke's battle, remember? Ita—that man is after you. You'll be dead in a moment. If Sasuke has been devoting his entire life to defeating him and he can't take him while he's pulling punches and not getting entirely serious, what makes you think you have a chance!" she yelled.

"He came because of you. His distance is the only thing stopping him from—"

"What kind of guy always escapes? Everyday being fearful, living in a nightmare—"

"Shut up for a minute." Jiraiya's voice suddenly dropped dangerous and low, "You are weak . . ."

"Naruto . . . sometimes it's best to think with your head instead of your heart," Tenshi spoke in a softer tone.

Gai told them that Kakashi had received the same jutsu and was currently bedridden. The group then decided it'd be best to find a medical specialist.

"Jiraiya-sama . . . " Gai began after they had gathered outside and Tenshi hesitantly handed Sasuke's unconscious body over to him, "Please find Tsunade-sama and bring her back to us!"

With renewed determination, Naruto shouted out.

"Don't you worry, we'll find her! Take care of Sasuke, Mr. Thickbrows!" Jiraiya put his hand in Naruto's shock of yellow hair and ruffled it in a (grand)fatherly sort of way.

"Well, Gai, we'll be leaving Sasuke in your care."

"Naruto! You've got guts; I like kids like that! Here, I'm giving this to you!" Gai explained, reaching into his Jonin vest of surprises, "This is the reason why Lee is strong."

Excitement lit up Naruto's face as he begged to know what it was. Gai whipped out a flimsy, wimpy and rather limp, green suit of spandex. He immediately began praising the spandex suit with the utmost optimism and Naruto's eyes sparkled with intense feelings of worship.

Tenshi all the while had been leaning against the wooden fence between them, saying nothing and staring dejectedly at her feet.

"Tenshi?" Jiraiya's deep, firm voice roused her from her deep meditation. "Which way are you going?" Gai seemed to notice her for the first time, as well as Naruto, as she ended her contemplation with a compromise.

"I'll go back with Gai and Sasuke. I owe an explanation to Sakura. I should've done something, but I didn't. But I'll catch up to you guys sooner or later." Tenshi decided.

* * *

Sasuke had been on the run for the past few years of his life. However, now he had no one to lean on, nowhere to go and nothing to do. Of course this decision to follow Sakura/Tenshi back into the past was completely impulsive, which was unlike him. He had no plan, and due to Sakura/Tenshi's words, no longer had a purpose.

A presence had appeared.

The chakra suffocated his surroundings and Sasuke stood up and drew his sword as his Sharingan swirled. A large, hulking figure appeared out of the forest and onto the grey river rock where Sasuke had been cooking his fish.

Something seemed somewhat familiar in the oni-type demon, although Sasuke couldn't quite put his finger on it. He was somewhat shaken, for he had thought that all of these types of demons had died out or had only existed in old fairytales. The only demons were the tailed beasts, right? Although he thought the secret existence of demons may have allowed beastly humans like Orochimaru, Zetsu, Kisame and perhaps even Deidara to have unhuman-like features.

"Sasuke-kun . . ." The demon cooed in a high-pitched voice, mocking him sweetly.

"Who . . . what are you?" he questioned coolly, although he did not sheathe his sword.

"Aw . . . Sasuke-kun, you don't recognize me?" it growled, the pitch gradually sinking down to what seemed to be its natural key.

"I can safely say that I've never seen an oni-type demon in my life." The demon seemed to consider this as a reasonably acceptable answer and grinned, showing off some particularly nasty yellow teeth.

"I'm still an old demon, I wonder if I can still pull off this little magic trick." It rolled its neck, and some loud cracks broke sharply through the air. It then rolled its shoulders and got a similar result. Its awful, yellow teeth showed themselves again and it laughed as its face slowly peeled and showed the wrinkly, sickly white face of Muramusa.

"So it's you . . . you followed me . . . ?" Sasuke inquired.

"Ah yes, you see, I don't like being mistreated by the young folks. And while I usually _eat_ those who are rude, I've decided that since you were especially rude, trapping me in a genjutsu like that (and with no good reason as well!), I was going to stuff your head and hang it over my fireplace!" Muramusa explained devilishly while his face phased back to the original grotesqueness.

While Sasuke's head looked quite _severable_, Muramusa knew that Sasuke was skilled in combat (precisely why Orochimaru selected him!) and that he himself was quite old and still unaccustomed to his true form. And while that old man form was quite cramped, this form felt like the skeleton had outgrown the skin, and was not quite convenient for fighting just yet.

However, although he lacked tact, his skin was tough and his brute strength was awesome. Sasuke attempted to run Muramusa through with his blade, straight through the chest and into his heart. Unfortunately, Sasuke was unable to penetrate the skin and a metallic skid took him by surprise. Kusanagi was thrown from Sasuke's hand and Muramusa's cruel clawed hand snatched Sasuke's collar and jerked it back so sharply Sasuke wondered if his neck had snapped. Upon rubbing his cold hand on the back of his neck, he found his head was still attached. He moved his hand in circles at the front now, pushing his heart back from his neck.

Sasuke sprinted to his Kusanagi, it being his main road for attack, but if it came down to it, he would be able to fight without. Sasuke wrenched the sword from its upright position in the river rock and sent a shock of electricity through it until it crackled in the air and escaped in wisps. This resonance made the blade extremely sharper and Sasuke felt confident he could drive his sword straight into Muramusa's brain and twisted the hilt until blood spilled like a waterfall down his forehead . . .

Sasuke blinked away the bloodlust, although it still lingered in the back of his head.

"Come little Uchiha boy? Can your blade truly pierce my skin?"

When an enemy taunts you, you are not to respond. That encourages them and lets them know that you are falling victim to their ridicule.

For a faint moment, Sasuke doubted his sword. He made the fatal mistake of not trusting his weapon and hesitated. An opening. Muramusa flashed in front of his opponent and slashed twice, once across the right side of Sasuke's face and again across his chest in the opposite direction, leaving eight, thin lines of crimson before twisting his body and kicking Sasuke in the side, forcing the shinobi to be sent careening into the river without his Kusanagi. Sasuke bashed the back of his head fairly seriously; he could tell because when he sat up, streams of diluted blood wavered in the downstream current. Plus he was dizzy and black splotches were presenting themselves in the edges of his vision. When Sasuke hauled his body to an upright standing position, he felt extremely faint and groped for something to latch onto while he collected his wits and tried (in vain) to come up with a battle strategy.

Muramusa, meanwhile had taken Sasuke's sword and was swinging it about with poor swordsmanship.

"Huh? This sword is rather dull, you haven't sharpened it lately, have you?" Well, Sasuke didn't have a means of sharpening any of his weapons ever since arriving in this past world. He had no money, so hiring someone to sharpen his weapon was out of the question. He occasionally sent bolts of electricity down the blade, but it would not sharpen it as well as a whetstone. He had been too . . . _cautious_ to enter any villages. Word would get around that he was there, Tenshi would track him down . . . and it was there he had always stopped his imagination. Nothing would happen after that, not in his mind. That was simply the end of the story, he refused to venture on into the possibility of a battle, one of them would get carried away in the heat of the battle and someone's head would be rolling on the ground, no longer attached to the body.

Sasuke, stubborn as usually, pushed his body and fatigued mind into the fray of battle once more. Chakra enveloped his hand and crackled into electricity, the Chidori chirped as he dashed for Muramusa. The demon looked at Sasuke and caught his left wrist, the Chidori simmered down back into raw chakra and eventually nothing but discharged energy. With a single quick movement, Sasuke's left wrist cracked and was dislodged from its rightful position, broken and useless. Somewhat enraged, Sasuke's right fist rose and smashed into Muramusa's face, breaking his nose at least and perhaps splintering a knuckle on Sasuke's part. He couldn't really tell in this muddled, blurry state of mind.

In most respects, Sasuke found it easier for him to run away. He had done it when he started to forget his goal for revenge; he had packed up all his things and left Konoha. He had run when he found it difficult to kill Naruto at the Valley of End. A runaway shinobi could only run. So when his wrist was broken and his head was bleary and bleeding, Sasuke retrieved his Kusanagi, sheathed it, and ran.

Muramusa, who had blanked out for a moment after having been struck in the head (again), watched the fleeing form of the Uchiha and stood up to pursue him. However, being as old as he was, his back gave out and his bones became weary.

"Oh, there goes the back!" he cried as his hand went to his spine and he hunched over like an old man. "I need souls, damn it!"

Muramusa waddled onto the main road which winded through the forest and found an old traveling monk who promptly tried to exercise the demon. The monk, in his old age, was probably lacking in his spiritual abilities that he had possessed as a young man. He leaned against his walking stick and held a seal in his hand as Muramusa gazed at him curiously. He felt no more that a tickle in his tummy before he held the old monk up by the collar and inhaled deeply, drawing the ghastly greyish-purple soul from his monk's eyes and mouth. Somewhat rejuvenated, Muramusa took the old monk's walking stick and abandoned the soulless body on the road and arrived at a village a couple hours later. The citizens hid indoors as some of the braver (and stupider) men of the village took up axes used for lumber and fishing spears to combat the demon.

"D-don't move! We have you surrounded!" One man declared in a quivering voice. His knees knocked together and his teeth chattered. Unmoved, Muramusa took him by the collar and sucked his soul out as well. The villagers, terrified, tried to drive their blades into his skin at no avail. Muramusa calmly plucked a man out of the horde, one by one, and extracted their soul. Each time becoming stronger and his appearance younger.

He drew the soul out of every last villager.

* * *

Sasuke, desperate at this point, sought out Tenshi. He had no trouble finding her. She was at the hospital. His younger self laid on the bed, unconscious and suffering and the younger Sakura had her arms folded on the edge of the bed, head resting on her arms and sleeping peacefully. The masked figure of Tenshi stared at the display with something of longing and regret.

Sasuke squatted on the windowsill and rapped on the glass with his uninjured hand, softly enough not to wake the genin, but loud enough to be heard. He immediately withdrew his hand and cradled the injured wrist and considered leaving. The flow of blood had been staunched with an inexpertly and painstakingly applied strip of cloth the was barely managed by a one-handed Uchiha.

Tenshi didn't quite jump at the noise, but rather at the image of Sasuke Uchiha, injured and bloody, coming to _her_ for help. She moved the mask to the side of her head so that her face was visible. She rubbed her eyes, unbelieving, and blinked several times. Sasuke had a look on his face of hurry-up-or-I'll-kill-you and Tenshi grinned devilishly, and relished the fact that _he_ had come to _her_ for help!

She opened the window and Sasuke half-fell into her arms and she rushed him to an empty room. No nurses were around, luckily, and Tenshi was able to heal the broken wrist and fix up all his other injuries, including the claw marks and the slight concussion.

"Where did you get these . . . ?" she murmured, carefully closing the slash marks so they would not scar. When Sasuke offered no answer, she spoke again.

"Muramusa?" Sasuke immediately tensed and glared at her.

"How did you know—?" he began before she cut him off.

"He came after me too." Sasuke's grip on the white blankets tightened considerably.

"Just because I'm here doesn't mean I'm on your side," Sasuke muttered darkly, finding it necessary to justify his being there. "If I went to anyone else, questions would've been raised . . ." _A ninja should conduct his missions in secret. I don't trust anyone else. I just wanted to see you again . . . _

"I know," Tenshi reassured him lightly as she finished up, both his body and kind of his ego intact. Then softer:

"Be careful next time." She closed her eyes as she moved her mask back into place. When she opened her eyes and saw through the slits of the porcelain mask, he was gone, spirited away.

* * *

**I don't know why, but that Muramusa-sucking-souls had a kind of Inuyasha feel to it. **

**Review otherwise Muramusa's gonna suck your soul!**


	13. Remeeting a Mentor

**Well, this chapter is more of a filler. There will be six more chapters of this story, because during my break, I took the time to write out the rest of the plotline instead of improvising like I have been the past however many chapters. You're welcome.**

**Disclaimer: SDA**

Re-meeting a Mentor

"HOW COULD YOU LET THIS HAPPEN!" Sakura yelled out in the hall at her older-self, right outside Sasuke's room. "He's seriously hurt . . . Why couldn't you . . . ? Why couldn't _I_ . . . ?" Sakura sobbed. Tenshi pulled her into an embrace with the intent to comfort her, although she felt it was herself that needed to the cradled.

"I'm sorry, you know how he is, stubborn, doesn't want help . . ." Tenshi replied, thinking of her own encounter with her own Sasuke. "I'm sorry I couldn't be of more use."

* * *

By the time Tenshi had returned to Naruto and Jiraiya to continue their search for Tsunade, she found Naruto lying on the ground laughing about Jiraiya's silly face and Jiraiya off in town snooping for her previous mentor's whereabouts. She wished she had listened better the first time over so she would know where Tsunade was instead of having to redo the search. But how could she have known that all of _this _would happen?

When she returned from getting a snack in town, Naruto had just blown the living pudding out of the poor rubber ball and Jiraiya announced they were going to meet Tsunade.

As they walked and talked and learned the Rasengan and murdered trees, Tenshi drifted off into her own thoughts. She didn't really need to be there to bring Tsunade back. But, she just needed to see the person who sent her on this mission. It wouldn't do anything except perhaps restore her passion for the mission, but something else drove her. She needed to be here when this happened.

In their quest, Naruto succeeded in helping Jiraiya win a gamble for information with his screwed up Rasengan. He also succeeded in fattening up his wallet, Gama-chan, when he played slots with a single coin.

"Now, don't get too addicted to gambling, promise?" Tenshi asked, fearing that the lucky wins would go to his head.

"Promise! Ne, that's the first thing you said since you got back, something wrong?" Naruto inquired with big eyes.

"No, I'm just . . . concerned. I feel like something bad is going to happen." Tenshi said softly and offhandedly. Naruto's scared face and the shivers that when down his back alerted Tenshi. "Oh! Sorry, it's nothing, never mind."

Eventually they came upon a little tavern. Jiraiya stopped them and pointed.

"Oh well . . . let's just eat dinner here."

"What? Isn't this place a pub?" Naruto questioned.

"You really think this is the best way to introduce an _impressionable_ boy to the world of alcohol and drunk women? You've already exposed him to gambling." Tenshi spoke up, maternal instincts kicking in.

"Information is always found at places like this." Jiraiya reasoned and Tenshi gave in. Upon pulling the curtain back and entering, the first person they saw was a busty blonde with a younger black haired woman, the former with a noticeable blush, courtesy of the alcohol.

"Tsunade!" "Shishou!" Jiraiya and Tenshi exclaimed in unison.

"Jiraiya . . ." Came the response, Tenshi's slip up going unheeded but definitely not unheard.

"Why are you at a place like this?" Tsunade asked.

"Finally, we've found you," Jiraiya said, not quite answering the question. When they had settled down and ordered their dinner, they began the business part of the evening.

"Today I met with someone that brings back bad memories . . ." Naruto leaned over and prodded Tenshi's plate with his chopsticks.

"Oi, you gonna eat that?" he asked. Tenshi put her hand on the chin of her mask, as if she were about to pull it off. The three who did not know her true identity slid their eyes over to her subconsciously, expecting to see something of interest, their conversation slowing down considerably, but not quite stopping.

"No, it's okay, you can have it." Tenshi said brightly, glad to have broken their suspenseful moment. After a moment of silence Jiraiya continued.

"Konoha has issued a request for you to be the 5th Hokage." Shock ran over the table in a wave, completely missing Tenshi.

"The Sandaime is . . ."

"It was Orochimaru's work I heard, he told me." Naruto's face contorted in hatred when he learned the identity of his Hokage's murderer. He stood up from his seat with the darkest look, and for a second, Tenshi saw the horrifying expression of Sasuke's hatred on Naruto's face.

"Naruto . . ." she said, taking his shoulder and guiding him back to his seat.

"The big snake guy? He's the one that killed our Hokage! Who the hell is this bastard!"

"He was with us, members of the Sannin."

"What the hell! Weren't the Sannin from Konoha? Then why?"

"He's a runaway shinobi, Naruto." Tenshi answered.

"Who is this boy?" Tsunade asked, looking down on Naruto with contempt, the look that Naruto despised most, the look he wanted to leave behind in his childhood.

"He's Uzumaki Naruto." Tsunade jutted her chin in Tenshi's direction.

"And her?"

"Tenshi."

"Hm, since when did the Great Toad Sage become a baby-sitting service?"

"Hey! How come she gets to be the Hokage? Why?"

"Naruto . . ." Tenshi said warningly.

"So . . . your answer is? Are you willing to accept?" Silence settled over them, engulfing them, as Tsunade ran over her options in her head. Tenshi expected her to accept, and never thought that she'd say—

"Impossible, I decline."

"What! But you can't say no!" Tenshi yelled, standing up and her chakra rushed as it did when she lost control of her emotions. "You're supposed to—"

"Uh . . . Tenshi . . . ?" Naruto interrupted, poking her arm, narrowly stopping her from blowing her cover. Jiraiya laughed in a kind of nostalgic, reminiscent way.

"I remember in the past—" Tenshi remembered her cover and sat back down "—you saying the same thing, 'I decline' when I asked you out."

"I thought you said we came here to ask her to come back to the village and fix Sasuke and Kakashi-sensei! But you asked her to be our Hokage! And she declined!" Naruto shouted, and instead of quieting him like she usually did, Tenshi sat in a daze. She wondered if she had messed something up and that now Tsunade _wasn't_ going to be the Hokage and if—if that _horrible _Danzo would instead take the position.

"Don't worry," Jiraiya said, "Only Tsunade can become the Godaime. She was the one that brought us victory in battle, no one has been able to acquire her techniques—" here Tenshi shifted uncomfortably, "And Tsunade is the granddaughter of the First Hokage. She is the most appropriate person for the position. If she becomes the Hokage, she would have to go back to the village and then she could check up on those two. This was a decision made by the top members of Konoha, you have absolutely no say in the matter."

"Jiraiya, this kid seems worse that your previous apprentice. In terms of looks, speech and intelligence . . ." Tsunade prodded, still skirting around the matter at hand.

"What's that supposed to mean!" Naruto burst out.

"Well . . . It's tough for anyone to be compared to the Fourth Hokage." Jiraiya continued to praise his previous student as Naruto leaned over to Tenshi.

"What?"

"Jiraiya's last student went on to become the Fourth Hokage," Tenshi said in a warm tone.

"But the Fourth died quickly," Tsunade retorted, scrutinizing Tenshi with a suspicious glare. "How could you be so fond of the Fourth? You're too young to have ever met him." Tenshi had never met the Fourth, but his legacy was the reason she still held faith in anything.

"He was a great man and his impact has reached even my generation. Being a Hokage is more than how long you live, it's about what you do for your village during your life. And the Fourth did more than I could possibly ask for," Tenshi answered calmly.

"He gave up his life for his village. Life is different from money. It can't be gambled that easily. Whoever puts it at risk so easily is a fool." Tenshi was shocked, this was the person who had taught her the importance of the kunoichi to the village? The sacrifices made to protect its many secrets? The weeks, months, _years_ that she had spent bleeding and expelling chakra so she could _finally_ be worthy of being on the same team as Naruto, Kakashi and . . . Sasuke. Tenshi's ears picked up the sharp movement of Naruto's body and the clinking of food and plates as they flew off the table. Tsunade, although drunk, could surely dodge the sloppy attack. Jiraiya pulled Naruto back with a single hand, grabbing the back of his suit and yanking the boy backwards into place.

"LET ME GO!" Naruto yelled, flailing his limbs futilely.

"Shut up, Naruto!" Jiraiya whispered fiercely, jutting his chin out at the bar patrons.

"I can't forgive anyone that says bad things about our Hokage and the Fourth!" Naruto proclaimed, glaring viciously at Tsunade.

"I don't care even if she is a woman! I'm going to kick her ass!" Tenshi reached to Naruto's shoulder.

"You can't beat up Tsunade-sama," she said, careful of the honorific she used this time.

"Says who? She's an old hag, I can take her!" Naruto growled.

"No Naruto, you _can't_. She's too—"

"You've got some nerve little boy. Let's take this outside."

"—Powerful . . ."

Tenshi leaned against the wall of the building as the town sized each other up. Tsunade confidently assured the sidelines that she would be able to defeat Naruto with her index finger, and Tenshi had no doubt about this.

"Don't get too comfy," Jiraiya recommended, taking in her comfortable stature, "This shouldn't take too long." Tenshi looked up at him.

"I don't expect it to."

Naruto went for a quick lunge and the two combatants soon met in the middle. Naruto thrust a kunai at Tsunade and she dodged it with ease, ducking under and slipping her finger into the kunai hole and into Naruto's wrist, triggering the pressure point reflex. Naruto subsequently released the kunai and the weapon was now in Tsunade's hands. With a quick, upwards lash, Naruto's headband came flying off and Tsunade's index finger came into focus.

And she flicked him.

O, how quickly the mighty fall.

Naruto tumbled to a halt some ways away. His—or rather, Tsunade's kunai flashed black and grey in the space in front of his face and implanted itself in the dirt ground. His headband, considerably less aerodynamic, fell next.

'_Dishonor' _the sight screamed in Naruto's eyes.

"Hey, Kid. I'll ask you one thing before you pass out. Why do you get so worked up just by hearing the word 'Hokage'?" Tsunade asked, with a look of contemplation in her amber depths. Naruto stood up and looked at her, fierce determination burning.

"Unlike you, I really want to succeed the 'Hokage' name, and I will, because it's my dream to become Hokage."

Tsunade looked down, and for a moment, she was open and vulnerable. Naruto clawed his hand in front of his face and began to focus his chakra, without the use of a Kage Bushin, he created a swirling mass of glowing blue chakra in his palm and lunged at Tsunade.  
"Take this!" Tsunade started at the attack, recognizing it, but quickly recovered her wits and poked the ground, opening a shallow trench with her index finger. Naruto's leg was caught in the chasm and his Rasengan twisted into the ground, causing a great swirling rift to emanate from the point of impact.

"You okay?" Tenshi asked, heaving Naruto out of the gulch.

"Jiraiya, are you the one who's teaching him Rasengan?"

"I'm his master . . . in principle . . ."

"Teaching him something he cannot do, and believing you are his master, it's better if he' doesn't thing that way," Tsunade lectured, with a sense of superiority, "So silly kids won't joke about foolish dreams like 'becoming Hokage'."

"It's not a joke you idiot!" Naruto screamed, "All I need is three days, and I can master that technique, just you watch!"

"Heh, some words, brat. A man's word should never be taken back." Tenshi and Naruto looked up in question.

"I'll give you one week, if you can master that jutsu, I will acknowledge that you could become the Hokage. I'll give you this necklace," Tsunade said, pointing at her crystal.

"I don't want the ugly necklace," Naruto said, clueless.

"Don't say that, Naruto. That is a very unique and precious ore that belonged to the first Hokage. If you sold it, you could buy three mountains."

"In other words," Tenshi continued, knowing that his rather . . . weak brain would not be able to comprehend the worth of three mountains, "More than a lifetime of ramen, breakfast, lunch and dinner, every day of every year."

Naruto's eyes sparkled with worship to the necklace and its worth. A miniscule river of drool flowed down the side of his chin and he clasped his hand together.

"_Ramen . . ._"

"_But—_" Tsunade continued, "If you can't master that jutsu in a week, then you lose all your money to me." Gama-chan sat crying in Tsunade's palm.

'_Naruto! Naruto!'_ He sobbed in Naruto's imagination.

"No! My Gama-chan! When did the mean old hag kidnap you?" Naruto cried back.

"But Tsunade-sama, the necklace—"

"Give it a rest, Shizune, it's not like the kid can do it anyways," Tsunade said, waving off her assistant.

"Tsunade, wanna get a drink? It's been a while," Jiraiya offered, and Tenshi sensed his ulterior motives, "You guys go find a hotel to stay in for the night, okay?"

Tenshi nodded and took Naruto by the forearm.

"Let's go."

* * *

Smoke unattached itself from the thin tree trunk, revealing a near perfect swirl breaking the bark. But swirlies weren't what Naruto was going for. Sweat streamed down his face and stained his clothes.

"Working hard?" Tenshi asked, bearing a bento box and a water bottle in her hands. Naruto looked up and smiled, wiping sweat from his brow.

"You know it!" Tenshi laughed and offered up the food and water. Naruto would've come running, but instead took on a clumsy trot caused by fatigue.

"You know, if you work too hard and never rest, you won't get far," Tenshi said with the tone of a mother, although you could see her admiring the work he was putting into his training. Each and every one of the bare trees were tattooed with the print of an incomplete Rasengan. As soon as Naruto had completed his dinner, he went straight back to work. Tenshi sat on a boulder and crossed her legs and began to meditate in the moonlight of the crescent moon.

"It's not possible!" Naruto yelled at no one in particular, collapsed face-up on the ground, "I'll do it tomorrow for sure!" Tenshi went to his side and her fingers began to glow, easing the tension on his body and fighting back the lactic acid. Her glow shut off when she sensed another person present. She looked up and found the face of her mentor peeking from the behind of a boulder. The blonde woman's face sank back into the darkness and Tenshi continued her treatment. Following putting a blanket over Naruto's slumbering form, Tenshi returned to the hotel, watching the landscape as it fell behind her. She tracked Naruto's progress throughout the trees. How some swirls bit deeper into the wood than others, and how some curled tighter in on themselves.

When Tenshi reached the hotel, she began to track Muramusa's movements, his motives. She plotted a timeline of her life from before, and the one now, attempting to recall memories from her past life and from this one. She worked furiously into the night.

'_What do I need to do next?'_ Tenshi asked herself as the candle was extinguished in the pool of wax and she rested her head in her arms. _'What do I have to do to save Tsunade-shisou from herself?'_

* * *

**I'm honestly surprised I have as many reviews and favorites and stuff that I do. It truly surprises me. I think I kind of _suck._**


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